STRATHCONA 

and  the  MAKING  of  CAN  AD, 


W.  T.  R.  PRESTON 


STRATHCONA   AND   THE 
MAKING  OF   CANADA 


•*.••> 


•  •      • 

•  •    •• 

>■•  •   •-• 


J/></ .  //if///"'//'/ 


STRATHCONA 

AND   THE 

MAKING  OF  CANADA 


BY 

W.  T.   R.   PRESTON 

LATE  COMMISSIONER   OF   EMIGRATION   TO   GREAT   BRITAIN   AND  COMMISSIONER 

OF  TRADE  TO  SOUTH   AFKICA,   JAPAN,    KOREA,    HOLLAND 

AND  SCANDINAVIA 


*    •  ?•••••  :••  :> 


NEW   YORK 

McBRIDE,   NAST   &   COMPANY 
1915 


Printed  in  Great  Britain 


CONTENTS 


I 


PAGE 


Arrival  in  Canada — Rebellion  in  progress — Journey  to  Labrador 
— World's  jumping-off  place — The  little  girl  passing 
Ottawa — A  strange  romance — Authority  of  chief  officials — 
Military  discipline — Foundation  of  fortune.       .         .         .       13 

II 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  secret — Explorers  and  rival  traders 
— Suspicion  of  the  Indians — George  Brown  and  the  Com- 
pany's possessions — Statesmanlike  treatment  of  the  red 
race — Domestic  relations — Purchase  by  Canada.        .         .       22 

HI 

Terms  of  purchase  misunderstood — Effect  on  Company's  shares 
— Panic  on  the  market — Donald  A.  Smith  a  purchaser — The 
Riel  rebellion — The  first  martyr — Lord  Wolseley's  chance.       37 

IV 

Canadian  troops  at  Fort  Garry — Treating  with  the  rebels — The 
Company  and  the  rebellion — New  trading  conditions — 
Competition  with  a  tinker.      .         .  .         .         .47 

V 

Donald  A.  Smith  elected  to  Parliament — Knowledge  of  the 
west — Dream  of  wealth  and  power — A  great  leader — 
Parliamentary  talent — Buying  a  public  franchise — Election 
subscriptions — Pacific  scandal.  .         .         .         .         '57 

VI 

Reverting  to  party  lines — George  Brown's  break  with  the  co- 
alition— Parliament  of  talents — Interest  in  Parliament — The 
early  days  in  Ottawa — Discovery  of  the  Pacific  scandal — 
Investigation  by  Parliament.  ....       68 


321461 


vi  CONTENTS 

VII 

FAG* 

The  situation  in  Parliament — Partyism  and  patriotism — Depu- 
tation to  Lord  Dufferin — Donald  A.  Smith's  position — A 
political  crisis  in  sight — Donald  A.  against  his  party — 
Resignation  of  the  Government 79 

VIII 

New  Government  in  power — Donald  A.'s  railway  purposes — 
Guarding  the  nation's  heritage — Alexander  Mackenzie — 
Lord  Dufferin's  speech — Tory  hatred  of  Donald  A. — In- 
triguing for  a  charter — Meeting  with  a  patriot.         .         .       89 

IX 

Donald  A.  and  the  American  railway — The  Dutch  bondholders 
— Negotiating  with  the  Official  Receiver — Borrowing  from 
the  bank — Issuing  stock  to  themselves — In  a  tight  place — 
Fortune  suddenly  realized.      .         .         .         .         .         .100 


Tory  insults  to  Donald  A. — Intrigues  for  Pacific  charter — Senate 
taking  revenge — Failure  of  intrigues — The  Government 
obdurate — Historical  scene  in  House  of  Commons.    .         .     107 

XI 

Undiscovered  intrigue — Before  the  elections — Elections  post- 
poned— Effect  of  chance  conversation — The  tempter  again — 
Donald  A.'s  election — Corrupt  practices — Loan  to  the 
Judge 114 

XII 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  in  office  again — "  So  much  the  worse  for 
British  connection" — Unseated  by  the  Supreme  Court — 
The  Pacific  railway  charter  in  sight — The  agreement — 
Donald  A.  Smith  kept  out  of  sight — Charter  hunters'  success.     1 22 

XIII 

Amassing  great  wealth — The  skeleton  in  the  cupboard — Facing 
sudden  ruin — Failure  to  sell  bonds — Applying  for  assistance 
—The  penalty  for  deception — The  Cabinet  refusal.  .     133 


CONTENTS  vii 

XIV 

PAGE 

Staggering  under  the  load — An  Irishman  to  the  rescue — Frank 
Smith  and  his  colleagues — Cabinet  discussion — George 
Stephen's  remorse — A  Scotchman's  revenge — The  bitter  cup.     140 


XV 

Demoralization  of  public  life — Members  appeal  for  funds  to  the 
syndicate — Fraudulent  company  subscriptions — A  hungry 
lot — Donald  A.'s  opinion — The  cloak  for  many  offences — 
A  fortune  in  a  night — Demoralization  run  riot .  .         .     149 


XVI 

The  American  railway  deal — Dealing  with  the  Official  Receiver 
— Wants  share  of  the  spoils — Thirteen  years'  lawsuit — The 
syndicate  won  in  the  courts — Profits  from  American  deal.     156 


XVII 

The  danger  to  the  state — Loading  the  dice — Louis  Riel  still  a 
factor — Blake's  resignation — Moments  never  to  be  for- 
gotten— Blake's  farewell  to  Canada 162 


XVIII 

Muzzling  the  Press — Donald  A.'s  fear  of  criticism — Buying  up 
the  Globe  shares — Unsuccessful  efforts  at  prostitution  of 
the  Press — Personal  admission  by  Lord  Strathcona.    .         .170 


XIX 

Once  more  amid  old  associations — Political  predilections — 
Disallowance  on  Manitoba's  legislation — Driving  the  golden 
spike — Fighting  against  slavery — What  Manitoba  paid  for 
liberty 174 


XX 

"  And  Ahab  spake  unto  Naboth  " — Looking  for  another  grab-— 
The  Intercolonial  Railway — An  unsatisfactory  Prime  Min- 
ister— Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell — The  "nest  of  traitors" — 
A  successful  cabal .  .  .  .  .  .  .184 


viii  CONTENTS 


XXI 


A  satisfactory  First  Minister — Fishing  for  forty  millions — 
Sir  Donald  as  High  Commissioner — Laurier's  political 
strength — Stirring  up  religious  strife — Hierarchy  recog- 
nized by  the  State — Laurier  successful — The  coming 
Prime  Minister 193 


XXII 

Donald  A.  changing  his  politics  again — Intriguing  against 
Laurier's  colleague — The  power  of  wealth — The  monetary 
kings  win — Where  the  blow  fell — Ambitions  never  realized 
— Liberals  and  the  hierarchy — An  appeal  to  Rome — Ultra- 
montane and  Orange — A  Papal  decree.     ....     203 


XXIII 

Making  peace  with  the  new  ruler — The  threatened  Royal  Com- 
mission —Laurier  and  Sir  Donald — A  seat  with  the  Peers — 
Cecil  Rhodes  and  Strathcona.  .         .         .         .         .213 


XXIV 

Protecting  the  toilers — Opposition  to  rival  railway  lines — 
Knifing  the  Government  policy — Standing  by  the  combine 
— What  negligence  has  cost  Canada — Taking  the  farmer's 
life  blood — Departmental  neglect.  .         .         .         .220 


XXV 

Starting  new  official  life — An  ancestral  mansion — The  ghosts 
in  every  room — Trouble  with  Agents-General — Sir  Claude 
Macdonald — Official   invitations — Resenting    interference.     225 


XXVI 

Personal  characteristics — Never  lacking  in  courage — Reputations 
destroyed — Development  of  Canada — Solving  the  emigra- 
tion problem — Strathcona  threatened  with  arrest  in 
Germany — Lord  Salisbury's  warning — Posing  as  the  suc- 
cessful emigration  worker — Hon.  Clifford  Sifton's  work — 
Assistance  of  British  Journalism — The  Coronation  Arch — 
Further  Imperial  honours.      ......     233 


CONTENTS  ix 

XXVII 

PAGE 

Election  journey  to  Canada — Keeping  the  C.P.R.  quiet — Still 
afraid  of  investigation — The  standard  of  British  politics — 
Danger  to  the  State 248 

XXVIII 

Distribution  of  wealth — The  Strathcona  Horse — Consternation 
at  a  banquet — Visits  from  the  troopers'  families — A  share 
in  the  good  times — Subscription  to  British  political  funds — 
The  All  Red  Route — The  ruling  passion — Fear  of  possible 
successor — Sir  Frederick  Borden  and  Sir  Gilbert  Parker — 
A  pathetic  scene — Conclusion  there  is  no  hurry  to  resign — 
Lady  Strathcona.  .......     254 

XXIX 

Lord  Strathcona's  will — Cancellation  of  Canadian  loans — 
Securing  friends  in  high  places — Sir  George  E.  Foster — 
Sir  Richard  Cartwright  ruined  by  rival  company — The 
great  Samson  shorn  of  his  strength — Bleeding  the  Canadian 
public — Comparison  with  British  procedure — Winnipeg — 
An  unforgiven  offence — The  unaccepted  atonement.         .     269 

XXX 

What  Donald  A.  Smith  has  cost  Canada — Kingdom  stolen  from 
the  public  heritage — What  might  have  been  if  .  .  . — Public 
obligations  to  be  met — What  the  future  will  cost — The 
burden  bearers — Strathcona's  legacy  to  the  Dominion — 
Ottawa  and  Westminster — Hope  from  Laurier  and  Borden.     286 

XXXI 

A  retrospect — The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  retarding  Canada — 
Thirty  years  too  late — Romance  of  Canadian  life — Hope 
for  the  future — A  fascinating  personality — The  records  of 
irrevocable  history.         .......     297 

Appendix 302 


"  You  do  not  know  the  genius  of  that  man's  country,  sir,"  an- 
swered Rashleigh,  "  discretion,  prudence,  and  foresight  are  their 
leading  qualities.  These  are  only  moderated  by  a  narrow  spirit  but 
yet  ardent  patriotism,  which  forms,  as  it  were,  the  outpost  of  the 
concentric  bulwarks  with  which  a  Scotchman  fortifies  himself  against 
all  the  attacks  of  a  generous  philanthropical  principle.  Surmount 
this  mound,  you  will  find  an  inner  and  still  dearer  barrier — the  love 
of  his  province,  his  village,  or,  most  probably,  his  clan;  storm  the 
second  obstacle,  you  have  a  third — his  attachment  to  his  own  family 
— father,  mother,  sons,  daughters,  uncles,  aunts,  and  cousins  to  the 
ninth  generation.  It  is  within  these  limits  that  a  Scotchman's  social 
affection  expands  itself,  never  reaching  those  which  are  outermost 
till  all  the  means  of  discharging  itself  in  the  interior  circles  have 
been  exhausted.  It  is  within  these  circles  that  his  heart  throbs, 
being  fainter  and  fainter,  till,  beyond  the  widest  boundary,  it  is 
almost  unfelt.  And,  what  is  worst  of  all,  could  you  surmount  all 
those  concentric  outworks,  you  have  an  inner  citadel,  deeper,  higher, 
and  more  efficient  than  all — a  Scotchman's  love  for  himself." 

Sir  Walter  Scott  :  Rob  Roy. 


Os  the  last  Monday  in  January,  1914,  the  great  doors  of  Westminster 
Abbey  were  thrown  open  for  a  Service  on  all  that  was  mortal  of 
Donald  Alexander  Smith,  first  Baron  Strathcona  and  Mount  Royal. 

The  dull  misty  atmosphere  of  a  winter's  day  added  to  the  sombre- 
ness  and  solemnity  within  the  vast  Abbey. 

The  memory  of  ten  centuries  of  England's  illustrious  dead  haunted 
the  scene.  Representatives  of  the  Crown,  the  Peerage,  the  Commons, 
the  wealth  of  London,  and  a  great  congregation  representing  the 
Empire,  surrounded  the  purple  pall. 

It  was  a  long  journey  from  the  Covenanters'  rugged  Kirk  in  a  little 
village  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  fourscore  and  ten  years  previously,  to 
this  ancient  Temple  of  Peace  and  Reconciliation — from  the  Shorter 
Catechism  to  the  magnificent  Ritual  of  the  Established  Church. 

Life  is  but  a  Book  of  White, 
Wherein  each  one  of  us  must  write 
Until  the  end — then  sudden  night. 


THE  LIFE  AND  TIMES  OF 
LORD    STRATHCONA 

PART   I 
I 

Arrival  in  Canada — Rebellion  in  progress — Journey  to  Labrador — 
World's  jumping-off  place — The  little  girl  passing  Ottawa — A 
strange  romance — Authority  of  chief  officials — Military  disci- 
pline— Foundation  of  fortune. 

The  most  important  figure  in  the  public  life  of  Canada 
since  1870,  although  not  always  in  the  public  eye,  has 
undoubtedly  been  Lord  Strathcona.  It  was  not  until 
long  after  he  had  become  an  unseen  power  that  the 
people  began  to  realize  his  influence.  For  forty  years 
his  personality  stands  out  in  every  political  crisis  in 
the  Dominion.  He  has  had  far  more  to  do  with  the 
defeat  and  victory  of  political  parties  since  Confedera- 
tion than  all  other  influences  combined.  The  manner 
in  which  he  moulded  the  tone  and  character  of  the 
political  life  of  the  country,  as  well  as  its  Parliamentary 
legislation,  is  unique.  It  cannot  be  said  that  his  object 
was  evident  when  he  first  appeared  on  the  scene, 
although  undoubtedly  his  own  mind  was  clear  about 
the  end  in  view.     So  successfully  did  he  control  the 

13 


. 


14  LORD   STRATHCONA 

leaders  of  political  thought,  that  immense  fortunes 
were  accumulated  as  the  direct  result  of  his  influence 
in  the  Federal  and  Provincial  Legislatures  of  the 
country.  On  many  important  occasions  Parliament, 
without  being  aware  of  the  fact,  simply  registered  his 
decrees. 

Donald  A.  Smith,  when  a  lad  seventeen  years  of 
age,  landed  at  the  port  of  Montreal  in  a  supply  ship 
owned  by  an  association  of  traders  known  as  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  took  up  the  duties  of  a 
minor  clerk  in  the  employment  of  this  Company  in  the 
desolation  of  Labrador.  He  left  his  native  land  a  few 
months  after  the  last  of  the  kings  of  the  Hanoverian 
dynasty  had  given  place  to  a  young  Queen.  Behind 
him  was  peace  and  contentment.  In  the  new  land  a 
colony  was  seething  with  unrest  and  even  open  rebellion. 
Numerous  and  powerful  sections  in  Canada  were  up 
in  arms  against  constituted  authority,  as  represented 
by  officialism  and  "  Family  Compacts,"  the  leader  of 
the  rebels  in  the  English  province  of  Upper  Canada 
being  a  fellow-Scotchman.  The  young  immigrant 
lived  to  see  the  demands  of  the  "  rebels  "  to  rule  the 
country  by  popular  Government  conceded  by  the 
Queen,  and  also  saw  the  leaders  of  the  movement 
occupying  well-deserved  positions  of  honour  and  trust 
in  the  confidence  of  the  Crown  and  the  people.  Some 
of  these  rebels,  under  more  happy  circumstances, 
became  his  warmest  personal  friends. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  formed  in  1670 
with  a  charter  from  Charles  II  to  Prince  Rupert  and 


A  LONELY  HABITATION  15 

seventeen  other  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  as  the 
"  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England 
trading  into  Hudson  Bay.  To  the  Company  was 
secured  the  sole  trade  and  commerce  of  all  those  seas, 
straits,  bays,  rivers,  lakes,  creeks  and  sounds  .  .  .  that 
are  not  already  actually  possessed  by  or  granted  to 
any  of  our  subjects,  or  possessed  by  the  subjects  of 
any  Christian  state." 

The  1200  mile  journey  from  Montreal  to  the  barren 
shores  of  Labrador  severely  tested  Donald  A.  Smith's 
willingness  to  remain  with  the  Company,  but  there 
was  no  possibility  of  retracing  his  steps.  What  it  was 
in  1838  can  scarcely  be  imagined.  Even  to-day 
Labrador  is  the  world's  jumping-ofl  place.  He  was 
going  to  a  place  where  only  once  a  year  would  tidings 
reach  him  from  the  outside  world.  His  companions 
for  the  greater  part  would  be  Indians  and  wild  fowl, 
the  stoicism  of  the  one  and  the  plaintive  note  of  the 
other  emphasizing  the  almost  overwhelming  sense  of 
desolation. 

The  vast  territory  controlled  by  the  Company 
covered  an  area  of  more  than  two  million  square  miles 
in  British  North  America,  and  was  peopled  largely  by 
utterly  uncivilized  Indians.  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  the  Jesuits  had  formed  the  first  noble  band 
of  devoted  self-sacrificing  missionaries  who  pressed 
their  way  with  the  story  of  the  Cross  to  that  distant 
interior,  but  they  were  only  partially  successful  upon 
a  fringe  of  the  roving  population.  The  majority  con- 
tinued  their   heathen   practices   until   comparatively 


16  LORD   STRATHCONA 

'recent  times.  Into  the  eastern  part  of  this  vast 
region,  "  Donald  A.,"  as  he  subsequently  became 
familiarly  known,  plunged  to  seek  his  fortune. 

The  son  of  poor  but  industrious  parents  living  at 
Forres  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  he  started  off  in  1838, 
and  taking  with  him  a  small  outfit  that  could  be  easily 
looked  after,  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  Company 
at  £20  a  year.  Although  quite  a  lad,  he  was  fairly 
tall  for  his  years,  and  straight  as  an  arrow.  His  features 
were  rather  heavy  and  unattractive,  except  for  the 
force  of  character  glowing  in  his  clear  blue  eyes,  and 
his  head  was  crowned  with  a  thick  growth  of  light 
brown  hair.  There  was  nothing,  however,  about  his 
general  appearance  foreshadowing  the  power  and  in- 
fluence that  he  was  destined  to  exert  in  the  new 
country  long  before  that  century  should  close. 

By  a  remarkable  coincidence  just  about  this  time 
a  Hudson's  Bay  Officer  named  Hardisty,  who  had 
married  in  the  far  west,  was  making  his  way  to 
Labrador  through  the  waterways  between  the  Georgian 
Bay  and  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  He  marked  out  the 
same  route  that  will  at  no  distant  date  be  traversed 
by  the  Great  Georgian  Bay  Canal.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  his  family  and  a  considerable  number  of 
attendants.  They  travelled  in  a  dozen  large  birch- 
bark  or  Indian  canoes,  which  had  to  be  portaged 
through  the  forests  to  navigable  waters  when  rapids 
or  falls  obstructed  their  passage.  This  no  mean  feat 
occupied  a  good  part  of  that  hazardous  journey.  In 
this  company  was  a  gentle,  interesting  little  girl  of 


A  LONG   CANOE   JOURNEY  17 

twelve  or  fourteen  years,  whose  constant  companion 
was  a  young  wild  fowl  that  had  been  captured  early 
in  the  journey,  and  which  she  had  completely  tamed. 
Perhaps  the  good  fairies  were  then  weaving  the  threads 
of  the  strange  romance  which  entwined  her  life  with 
the  young  Scotch  lad's,  then  on  his  way  to  carve  out  a 
future  in  the  new  world.  She  became  his  wife  by 
the  rites  of  Labrador,  as  no  recognized  legal  facilities 
existed  for  a  marriage  ceremony.  The  formal  mar- 
riage, according  to  the  ritual  of  the  Established  Church, 
took  place  more  than  half  a  century  later  in  the 
British  Embassy  in  Paris.  This  was  officially  an- 
nounced after  Lady  Strathcona's  death.  Seventy 
years  after  that  long  canoe  journey,  when  the  little 
girl  had  become  the  centre  of  a  great  social  circle  in 
London,  surrounded  with  all  that  wealth  and  luxury 
could  supply,  she  still  recalled  the  delight  of  that 
early  experience  in  travelling,  and  had  a  vivid  recol- 
lection of  the  rugged  grandeur  of  the  great  bluffs 
upon  which  now  stand  the  Parliament  Buildings 
overlooking  the  Ottawa  river,  and  the  wild  beauty 
of  the  primeval  forests  and  majestic  rivers  of  the 
vast  country  through  which  she  had  journeyed  as  a 
small  child,  accompanied  by  her  great  white-winged  pet. 
In  the  various  positions  that  Donald  A.  Smith 
filled  in  the  work  of  the  Company,  from  the  bleak 
and  inhospitable  coast  of  Labrador  to  the  Hudson 
Bay,  and  then  across  a  vast  monotonous  stretch  of 
country  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the 
years  moved  slowly  that  witnessed  his  promotion  to 


18  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Factor,  or  Superintendent,  over  the  many  forts  or 
trading  posts  scattered  through  the  western  district. 
In  this  position  he  was  able  to  exercise  appreciable 
influence  in  the  territory  allotted  him,  together  with 
a  distinct  increase  in  authority  over  the  minor  em- 
ployees of  the  Company,  far  beyond  that  which  he 
had  previously  wielded. 

While  appointment  to  positions  of  greater  respon- 
sibility was  largely  directed  by  seniority,  the  final 
confirmation  in  all  cases  had  to  come  from  the  Board 
in  London,  where  the  record  of  every  officer  was 
kept  with  great  care. 

To  Donald  A.'s  comparative  youth  no  objection  was 
taken  by  the  head  office,  as  his  record  in  the  books  of  the 
Company  was  all  that  could  be  possibly  desired.  The 
position  of  Factor  was  one  of  considerable  responsi- 
bility. This  officer  was  absolute  ruler  in  his  own  dis- 
trict, not  only  in  dealing  with  his  subordinates,  but 
with  the  native  tribes  as  well.  Like  the  Centurion  of 
old,  the  Factor's  commands  must  be  obeyed.  No  one 
could  question  his  control.  The  isolated  situation 
of  the  officers  naturally  fostered  autocracy  on  the 
part  of  the  chief,  there  being  none  of  the  subduing 
influences  that  come  from  contact  with  large  numbers 
of  one's  own  caste.  This  self-assertive  tendency  was 
encouraged  by  the  Company  rather  than  otherwise. 
It  brought  about  a  spirit  of  military  discipline  that 
was  much  desired ;  also,  it  formed  a  barrier  against 
too  intimate  relations  between  superior  officers  and 
their  subordinates,  which,  if  allowed  to  exist  to  any 


NEVER-FORGOTTEN   WRONGS  19 

great  extent,  might  result  in  the  spread  of  a  system  of 
dishonesty  in  the  trading  operations  of  the  Company. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  there  were  some  veritable 
tyrants  among  the  factors  who  did  not  hesitate,  when 
strong  personal  reasons  existed,  to  send  objectionable 
subordinates  on  dangerous  missions.  There  are  two 
or  three  instances  on  record  of  these  who,  instead  of 
going  into  regions  to  which  they  had  been  ordered, 
and  which  were  reputed  to  be  veritable  death-traps, 
slipped  quietly  away  to  seek  employment  with  a  similar 
association  of  traders  in  the  United  States.  Then, 
twenty  or  thirty  years  after  their  supposed  death, 
they  unexpectedly  returned,  having,  meantime, 
reached  official  and  financial  positions  enabling  them 
to  defy  their  old  tyrants,  and  prove  that  neither  by 
time  nor  absence  had  official  or  domestic  wrongs  been 
forgotten. 

Opportunities  were  sometimes  taken  advantage  of 
by  officers  to  trade  on  their  own  account  with  the 
Indians,  although  usually  all  profits  from  buying  or 
selling  were  claimed  by  the  superior  officers  for  the 
Company.  As  one  of  the  most  prominent  in  authority, 
Donald  A.  Smith  secured  the  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
officers,  and  was  entrusted  by  them  with  their  savings 
for  investment.  Up  to  this  time  the  officers  had  been 
accustomed  to  draw  their  salaries  once  a  year.  Donald 
A.  got  them  to  give  him  authority  to  draw  their 
cheques  every  month.  This  obviously  gave  him 
control  of  large  sums  of  money,  and  made  him  an 
important    personage  in  banking  circles.     The  only 


20  LORD   STRATHCONA 

stipulation  his  fellow-officers  made  was  that  they 
should  receive  a  small  annual  interest  of  three  per  cent. 
Donald  A.'s  duties  rendered  it  necessary  that  he  should 
frequently  visit  Montreal  for  the  Company.  In  the 
early  years,  when  he  had  to  go  to  Fort  Garry,  this 
necessitated  an  overland  journey  of  more  than  one 
thousand  miles  before  connection  could  be  made  with 
the  eastern  railway  system  of  the  United  States,  by 
which  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  could  be  reached. 

During  one  of  these  visits  to  the  commercial  capital 
of  Canada  he  was  persuaded  to  invest  his  savings  in 
the  stock  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal.  This  stock  in  a 
few  years  largely  increased  in  value.  Foreseeing  this 
with  his  usual  shrewdness,  he  also  invested  the  moneys 
entrusted  to  him  by  his  associates. 

In  course  of  time,  consequently,  his  name  ranked 
among  the  largest  shareholders  in  the  Bank  of  Montreal, 
and  as  a  natural  result  he  was  elected  to  a  directorship. 
The  confidence  thus  shown,  as  well  as  the  honour 
conferred  on  him,  was  a  fitting  recognition  of  his 
personal  interest  in  the  Bank.  His  introduction  did 
not  prove  an  inconvenience  to  the  other  directors, 
inasmuch  as  his  frequent  and  extended  absence  on  the 
Company's  business  did  not  allow  him  to  attend  the 
meetings  of  the  Board  with  regularity.  His  active 
interest  in  the  management  developed  in  later  years 
in  a  manner  which  must  always  remain  unique  in 
the  history  of  the  great  monetary  institutions  of  the 
country.  As  one  after  another  of  the  officers  of  the 
Company  wanted  to  withdraw  their  deposits  from  his 


FAR-REACHING    AUTHORITY  21 

care,  they  were  promptly  paid  out  of  his  private 
means.  Through  the  savings  of  his  colleagues  and 
his  investments  in  this  way,  was  laid  the  foundation 
of  his  fortune. 

In  the  Company  one  promotion  followed  another, 
and  owing  to  a  chance  visit  to  London,  where  he 
created  a  most  favourable  impression  at  the  head 
office  of  the  Company,  he  was  given  promotion  at 
an  important  juncture  over  several  of  his  seniors  in 
office.  Eventually  he  found  himself,  at  the  time  the 
Company's  territorial  interests  passed  under  the  control 
of  the  Government  of  Canada,  installed  at  Fort  Garry, 
the  present  site  of  Winnipeg,  as  Resident-Governor 
of  the  Company,  exercising  absolute  sway  over  that 
vast  tract  of  land  which  extended  from  Hudson  Bay 
to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains — an  area  greater 
than  France,  Germany,  Austria,  Hungary,  Scandinavia, 
Holland  and  Belgium  combined.  To  this  important 
position  he  was  appointed  in  1869. 


II 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  secret — Explorers  and  rival  traders — 
Suspicion  of  the  Indians — George  Brown  and  the  Company's 
possessions — Statesmanlike  treatment  of  the  red  race — Domestic 
relations — Purchase  by  Canada. 

For  many  years  little  interest  had  been  taken  by  Old 
Canada  in  the  Great  Lone  Land  of  Western  British 
North  America.  In  the  Canadian  schools  as  late  as 
the  decade  between  i860  and  1870  it  was  taught  that 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory  was  as  uninhabitable  as 
the  Sahara  Desert,  only  instead  of  being  barren  sand, 
it  was  believed  to  be  largely  covered  with  ice  and  snow. 
Greenland  was,  in  fact,  looked  upon  as  offering  a  more 
suitable  field  for  exploration.  Nothing  was  left  undone 
by  those  charged  with  the  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  confirm  this  im- 
pression. Officers  of  the  Company  were  not  allowed 
to  communicate  the  facts  about  the  natural  resources 
of  that  boundless  territory  to  their  friends.  The 
censorship  that  was  continually  exercised  over  the 
contents  of  private  and  confidential  letters  was  such 
as  would  have  suited  the  most  extreme  military 
martinet  in  time  of  war.  There  was  nothing  that  was 
allowed  to  escape  the  vigilant  eye  of  the  Company  in 

the  earlier  days.     The  heavier  the  seal  or  crest  that  was 

22 


TREATMENT   OF  THE   INDIANS  23 

expected  to  ensure  secrecy,  the  more  did  the  letter 
become  an  object  of  suspicion,  and  the  more  unlikely 
was  it  to  reach  its  destination  without  the  contents 
becoming  known.  In  so  far  as  the  civilized  world 
was  concerned,  the  Company  intended  that  the  North- 
west of  British  America  should  be  a  sealed  book. 

It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  treatment  of 
the  Indians  by  the  Company  during  the  long  period 
that  they  have  held  unlimited  sway  in  the  Great  West 
is  worthy  of  the  best  traditions  of  British  statesman- 
ship. The  Indians  were  recognized  as  belonging  to 
humanity  and  having  unquestionable  rights  to  life 
and  property.  This  recognition  on  the  part  of  the 
officials  of  the  Company  brought  about  a  sense  of 
confidence  and  trust  in  the  British  flag  among  all  the 
tribes.  That  the  patience  and  wisdom  of  the  Com- 
pany's servants  was  frequently  severely  tested,  the 
records  of  the  Company  prove.  The  contrast  that 
has  ever  marked  the  treatment  of  the  Indians  in  the 
United  States  by  the  authorities,  and  that  which  the 
tribes  received  under  the  British  Government  can 
never  be  forgotten.  The  one  is  marked  by  rapine 
and  massacre — the  other  by  peace  and  order. 

Bancroft,  the  American  historian,  states  "  that  the 
officers  and  servants  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
were  as  much  gentlemen  by  instinct  in  their  treatment 
of  Indians,  as  in  their  treatment  of  civilized  men  and 
women.  Wherever  they  had  the  country  entirely  to 
themselves  there  was  little  trouble  with  the  natives. 
Their    management    of    them    was    perfect.     They 


24  LORD   STRATHCONA 

treated  them  first  of  all  as  human  creatures,  not  as 
wild  beasts;  they  were  to  them  as  children,  not  the 
enemy  of  civilization.  In  their  intercourse  they  were 
humane,  in  their  dealings  honest.  Offences  were 
followed  by  justice,  not  revenge.  ...  In  this  con- 
nection, however,  the  Dominion  must  never  forget 
the  great  and  valuable  services  rendered  by  the 
missionaries  of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant 
faiths,  and  of  the  beneficial  influence  exercised  by  those 
zealous  men  over  the  natives  of  the  former  chartered 
and  licensed  territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company." 
The  domestic  relations  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  officials 
was  the  natural  consequence  of  their  restricted  sur- 
roundings. This  phase  of  personal  experience  is  not 
peculiar  to  the  territory  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
It  is  the  history  of  the  human  race  from  the  dawn  of 
time. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  men  began  to 
multiply  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  daughters 
were  born  unto  them,  that  the  sons  of  God  saw 
the  daughters  of  men  that  they  were  fair ;  and 
they  took  them  wives  of  all  which  they  chose." 

Race,  colour,  or  creed  has  never  been  an  insur- 
mountable obstacle  between  the  human  sexes.  From 
the  Elamites  to  the  Romans,  from  the  Caesars  to  the 
present  day,  the  same  story  is  told.  The  march  of 
European  civilization  is  marked  by  the  advent  of  the 
Eurasian  and  the  Half-breed.  Among  the  most 
noticeable  have  been  the  English  and  French  mar- 


THE  ENGLISHMAN'S  EGOTISM  25 

riages  in  India,  the  Dutch  in  Java  and  South  Africa, 
the  Spanish  in  the  tropics  of  North  America,  the 
New  Zealander  with  the  Maori,  the  American  and 
the  Negro,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officials 
with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Great  West. 

In  his  restricted  vision  the  average  Englishman 
endeavours  to  convince  himself  that  the  people  of 
these  Islands  are  the  salt  of  the  earth ;  forgetful  that 
a  certain  degree  of  self-assurance  may  have  not  a  little 
to  do  with  the  claim,  so  ill-founded  after  all,  to  this 
nation  being  the  only  high  moral  type  in  existence. 
The  fact  is  indisputable  that  every  nation  or  people 
has  its  classes  of  high  and  low  degree.  If  courage, 
diplomacy,  ability  to  govern,  and  added  thereto  the 
inspiration  of  patriotism  for  home  and  race,  is  the 
standard  by  which  human  greatness  be  measured, 
then  the  difference  between  the  dark-skinned  races 
and  the  whites  is  of  but  slight  degree.  Nevertheless, 
the  general  prejudice  against  the  infusion  of  coloured 
blood  in  the  Caucasian  family  is  a  factor  in  human 
history  that  can  never  be  entirely  overlooked.  The 
fear  of  reversion  to  type,  whether  justified  or  not, 
is  ever  present. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officials,  however,  had 
no  special  convictions  on  this  point.  In  fact  there 
was  every  possible  reason  why  there  should  be  none. 
They  were  surrounded  by  a  virile,  healthy,  sturdy  type 
of  humanity.  They  were  isolated  from  their  kindred, 
and  there  was  no  indication  that  things  would  ever 
change.     The  Company  took  no  steps  to  emigrate  the 


26  LORD   STRATHCONA 

gerttler  sex  from  Europe  to  the  distant  continent. 
It  was  not  dreamed  that  the  five  months'  weary  journey 
could  ever  be  shortened  to  five  days.  The  natural 
consequences,  therefore,  were  inevitable.  Half-breeds 
became  a  recognized  element  throughout  the  territory. 
But  as  generation  succeeded  generation,  marrying,  as 
they  almost  invariably  did,  with  the  scattered  white 
population,  the  evidence  of  ancestry  almost  disap- 
peared in  many  families.  The  sons  and  daughters 
were  educated  in  the  schools  provided  by  the  Church, 
and  they  became  thoroughly  Caucasian  in  thought 
and  custom. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  character  or 
standing  of  the  North  American  Indian  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries,  when  the  greater 
number  of  the  original  marriages  between  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Company  and  the  daughters  of  the 
Indians  took  place,  was  entirely  different  from  the 
Indian  of  the  present  time.  Then  he  was  a  warrior, 
brave  and  bold,  and  not  beholden  to  the  bounty  of 
the  State  for  his  existence.  He  disputed  the  right  of 
the  white  man  to  the  possession  of  his  heritage. 
For  the  sake  of  his  wigwam  and  his  tribe  he  guarded 
the  Passes  of  the  Alleghanies  against  the  march  of 
the  early  settlers.  He  fought  side  by  side  with  the 
British  forces  against  the  revolting  colonists  in  the 
War  of  Independence.  He  was  a  diplomatist,  entering 
into  treaties  with  rival  tribes,  the  survival  of  the 
fittest  being  then  as  now  the  only  recognized  authority. 
He  was  a  hunter,  roaming  a  vast  continent,  probably 


THE   PRIDE   OF  ANCESTRY  27 

living  a  more  highly  moral  life  than  his  white 
brother  in  European  centres,  and  punishing  im- 
morality with  a  severity  that  we  can  only  characterize 
as  the  acme  of  cruelty. 

To  be  a  descendant  from  a  race  of  that  character 
may  have  its  disadvantages,  but  it  furnishes  no  cause 
for  regret,  except  that  of  secret  vanity.  The  demoraliz- 
ing influences  of  civilization  had  not  then  reached  the 
great  prairies  of  the  west.  The  Caucasian,  however, 
was  coming  with  his  superior  weapons  of  offence  and 
defence  to  assert  his  supremacy.  It  is  indeed  a  sad 
commentary  upon  a  boasted  civilization  that  the 
degeneration  of  ancient  and  noble  races  has  so  fre- 
quently followed  this  current  of  events.  The  Kaffirs 
who  labour  in  the  mines  of  South  Africa  carry  to 
their  kraals  the  seeds  of  moral  and  physical  disability 
to  decimate  the  race,  just  as  the  noble  type  of  North 
American  Indian  has  given  place  to  a  sickly,  diseased 
type  of  humanity,  since  coming  in  contact  with  the 
people  who  succeeded  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in 
the  western  prairies. 

The  Englishman's  prejudice  is  naturally  strong 
against  a  fusion  of  the  races,  and  there  are  always 
those  on  hand  to  stir  up  the  latent  fires.  The  demand 
that  the  Empire  shall  be  reserved  for  the  Englishman 
if  possible,  but  that  it  must  be  held  for  the  white 
man  at  all  hazards,  appeals  to  the  populace.  Better 
to  leave  great  natural  resources,  that  might  add 
enormously  to  the  wealth  of  the  Empire,  undeveloped, 
than  allow  the  work  to  be  done  with  other  than  white 


28  LORD    STRATHCONA 

laboifr,  though  climatic  conditions  may  be  such  that 
the  white  man  cannot  exist  in  such  surroundings. 
Upon  this  declaration  as  a  nation  we  are  pinning  our 
faith.  In  how  far  this  prejudice  of  colour  may  prove 
a  rock  of  offence  in  the  pathway  of  the  future  of  the 
Empire  is  a  problem  for  statesmen  to  solve.  At  any 
rate,  this  prejudice  did  not  appeal  to  many  of  the 
officials  of  Prince  Rupert's  company  of  traders  and 
adventurers,  and  the  world  or  the  Empire  seems  none 
the  worse. 

Expeditions  were  undertaken  from  time  to  time 
to  explore  these  vast  regions,  and  companies  had  been 
organized  to  open  up  trade  with  the  Indian  tribes. 
These  companies  were  encouraged  and  promoted 
mostly  by  merchants  in  Montreal.  For  many  years 
the  basis  of  a  very  profitable  business  by  Montreal 
traders  had  been  carried  on  with  the  Indians  of  old 
Canada,  but  with  the  opening  up  of  the  country, 
and  the  continually  increased  stream  of  settlement 
to  the  old  provinces,  this  trade  had  gradually  declined, 
so  that  the  merchants  were  all  the  more  anxious  to 
establish  permanent  relations  with  the  tribes  in  the 
Far  West.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  notified  all 
concerned  that  it  was  their  determination  to  prevent 
either  trading  or  exploration  by  outside  parties.  It 
was,  therefore,  well  understood  that  anything  that 
might  be  accomplished  was  at  the  personal  and 
financial  risk  of  all  concerned,  and  such  enterprises 
might  be  met  with  open  hostility  of  fire  and  sword. 

The  new  business  organizations  were  soon  ruined 


NO  ROOM  FOR  TRESPASSERS  29 

by  the  greater  forces  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
The  possible  competition  in  trade  and  exploration  that 
appeared  to  be  looming  on  the  horizon  of  the  Great 
Lone  Land  was  summarily  crushed.  But  the  indi- 
vidual traders  and  explorers  were  more  persistent, 
having  no  interests  to  risk  other  than  their  own.  It 
was  not,  however,  until  many  were  known  to  have 
gone  into  the  vast  region,  of  whom  no  tidings  ever 
again  reached  the  outer  world,  that  direct  efforts  to 
overcome  the  tyrannical  rule  of  the  Company  began. 
The  Company  claimed  that  the  territory  was  a  special 
preserve.  This,  it  was  asserted,  was  justified,  (i)  by 
the  rights  conferred  under  the  Imperial  Charter 
issued  by  Charles  II ;  and  (2)  by  the  alleged  fears 
that  competition  with  other  whites  would  have 
a  tendency  to  unsettle  the  habits  of  the  Indians, 
and  might,  perhaps,  result  in  their  latent  fighting 
instincts  being  aroused. 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  put  forth  by  the 
Company,  however,  it  was  realized  that,  unless  the 
active  co-operation  of  the  Indians  could  be  secured, 
white  trespassers  would  inevitably  make  inroads  into 
the  trade  of  the  Territory.  Steps  were  therefore  taken 
to  unite  the  tribes  against  all  whites  not  officially 
connected  with  the  Company.  The  means  adopted 
were  worthy  of  the  object  desired,  but  could  only 
have  been  the  outcome  of  an  extraordinary  disregard 
of  the  ordinary  amenities  of  life.  The  Indians  were 
told  that  these  outsiders  would  rob  and  cheat  them 
in  the  barter  of  their  furs ;  and  that  the  special  object 


30  LORD   STRATHCONA 

of  tkese  intruders  in  coming  into  the  territory  was  to 
kidnap  the  young  squaws  and  sell  or  use  them  for 
immoral  purposes.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
untrue.  The  reputations  of  the  Montreal  merchants 
stood  exceedingly  high  in  all  their  dealings  with  the 
Indians.  The  intruders  could  not  afford  for  their 
own  sakes,  to  be  less  honest  or  moral  than  the  officials 
of  the  Company.  But  competition  with  outsiders 
meant  that  much  higher  prices  would  soon  have  to 
be  paid  to  the  Indians  for  all  that  they  might  have 
to  sell. 

Yet  the  Indians,  naturally  suspicious,  readily  ac- 
cepted the  suggestions  given  by  the  Company  as 
sufficient  justification  for  treacherously  murdering 
white  men  who  could  not  prove  their  connection  with 
the  Company.  Missionaries  tried  their  hardest  to 
persuade  the  Indians  not  to  carry  out  such  a  policy. 
But  they  were  opposed  by  the  medicine-men  of  the 
tribes,  who  saw,  in  accentuating  the  wishes  of  the 
Company,  a  chance  to  magnify  their  own  importance, 
and  perhaps  weaken  the  adhesion  of  the  christianized 
Indians  to  the  Church.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  many  whites  who  ventured  into  the  Territory 
never  returned  to  their  friends,  nor  that  not  a  few 
scalps  decorated  the  wigwams  of  the  Indians. 

The  policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  trading 
under  the  authority  of  a  Royal  Charter,  was  altogether 
different  from  that  adopted  by  the  East  India  Company 
and  the  Chartered  Company  of  South  Africa.  The 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  from  its  inception  showed  an 


LIGHTING  UNCONTROLLABLE   FIRES      31 

utter  disregard  of  fhe  value  of  the  lives  of  outsiders 
when  they  affected  its  pockets,  and  an  equal  disregard 
for  honour  and  truth  when  these  could  not  be  turned 
into  marketable  commodities.  It  seems  undeniable 
that  corporate  bodies  may,  with  impunity,  be  guilty 
of  offences  that  would  inevitably  bring  down  upon 
individuals  the  most  condign  punishment. 

No  efforts  were  made  to  distinguish  between  traders 
and  explorers.  It  may  be  granted  that  traders  were 
objectionable  from  the  standpoint  of  possible  com- 
petition with  the  Company,  however  little  the  Com- 
pany was  justified  in  placing  their  lives  in  one  scale 
to  be  out-weighed  by  the  addition  of  a  few  pounds 
to  the  revenue  of  the  Company  on  the  other.  But 
explorers  belong  to  a  different  order;  their  work  is 
essentially  scientific  and  educative.  The  civilized 
world,  looking  for  new  homes,  had  a  right  to  infor- 
mation. But  all  were  classed  together  and  doomed 
by  the  Company  to  the  same  fate.  Everything  was 
done,  however,  to  protect  the  lives  of  the  Indians. 

In  the  management  of  the  East  India  Company  and 
the  Chartered  Company  of  South  Africa  there  has, 
probably,  been  a  want  of  consideration  shown  in 
regard  to  the  lives  of  native  races,  but  whites  and 
Europeans  have  always  been  protected  with  all  the 
authority  at  the  command  of  the  companies.  The 
retribution  that  was  the  natural  outcome  of  the 
policy  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  came  later  with 
appalling  force.  They  had  lighted  fires  which  they 
could  not  control. 


82  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Tn  the  meantime,  through  one  source  and  another, 
sufficient  information  reached  the  public  to  justify  the 
belief  that  vast  possibilities  existed  for  the  expansion  of 
a  great  Canadian  nationality  in  the  region  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  As  early  as 
1 85 1,  one  of  the  political  leaders  of  Old  Canada,  George 
Brown,  commenced  an  agitation  in  the  columns  of 
the  Toronto  Globe,  the  most  influential  newspaper 
of  Canada  at  that  time,  for  the  early  cancellation  of 
the  territorial  jurisdiction  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  the  acquisition  of  all  the  rights  of  the 
Company  by  the  Government.  George  Brown,  as  his 
name  indicates,  was  Scotch,  a  family  connection  of 
the  Nelsons,  publishers  in  Edinburgh.  So  that  he 
was  only  carrying  out  the  family  tradition,  when  on 
his  arrival  in  Canada  in  the  early  'forties,  he  established 
a  newspaper  in  Toronto,  then  known  as "  Muddy  York." 

George  Brown  was  of  commanding  appearance, 
being  unusually  tall  even  for  one  of  his  race,  and 
his  force  of  character  was  extraordinary.  Having 
once  taken  up  a  public  policy  his  advocacy  never 
ceased  until  success  crowned  his  efforts.  His  news- 
paper had  an  influence  on  the  populace  such  as  no 
other  had,  or  probably  ever  will  have,  in  Canada. 
Every  fibre  of  his  being  was  touched  with  patriotism 
of  the  highest  type.  His  newspaper  breathed  his  own 
personality  upon  all  great  questions,  which  is  still  a 
living  spirit  in  old  Canadian  families.  Students  of 
the  Globe  were  fired  with  the  loftiest  ideals  of  the 
duty  of  citizenship — the    public  interest  gave  place 


UNCOMPROMISINGLY   RIGHT  33 

to  every  other  consideration.  This  is  one  of  the 
causes  of  the  purity  of  public  life  during  that  period 
in  the  history  of  Canada.  Political  opponents  sneered 
at  the  Globe  as  being  "  the  Bible  of  the  Grits,"  as 
the  Liberals  of  the  day  were  called.  Belonging  to 
an  advanced  Calvinistic  school  in  his  early  days 
in  Canada,  George  Brown  expressed  extreme  views  in 
regard  to  the  Catholics  of  Lower  Canada,  but  in 
later  years  his  prejudices  gave  way  to  ardent  admira- 
tion for  their  character  and  institutions.  Both  in 
and  out  of  Parliament  he  exerted  a  deep  influence  on 
the  electorate  of  the  country.  Politicians  have  said 
that  his  unbending  disposition,  his  lack  of  a  com- 
promising spirit,  made  him  impossible  as  a  successful 
political  leader.  If  success  is  to  be  judged  by  length 
of  time  in  public  office,  this  may  be  true.  But  as  a 
patriot,  having  no  object  to  serve  other  than  the 
development  of  his  adopted  country,  making  no 
personal  gain  from  positions  that  he  held  in  public 
life,  George  Brown's  political  record  stands  as  a  fitting 
example  to  Colonial  statesmen  for  all  time. 

It  was  from  this  source  that  the  first  clarion  was 
sounded  for  the  right  of  Canada  to  hold  undisputed 
sway  over  the  Great  Lone  Land  of  the  west.  The 
demand  for  possession  by  Canada  was  met  by  the 
Company  with  the  publication  of  statements  assuring 
Canadians  that  the  whole  territory  was  not  worth  a 
farthing,  except  for  furs — that  the  climate  was  such  as 
made  living  impossible  to  others  than  Indians — and  that, 
at  any  rate,  nothing  would  grow  in  that  vast  territory 


84  LORD   STRATHCONA 

that  could  be  profitable  to  white  labour.  These  efforts 
to  deceive  the  public  were  effective  for  yet  another 
twenty  years.  But  during  this  period  reliable  infor- 
mation leaked  out  about  the  agricultural  possibilities 
of  those  great  prairies,  notwithstanding  the  drastic 
methods  adopted  by  the  Company  to  prevent  intelli- 
gence reaching  those  who  were  anxious  for  Canadian 
expansion.  The  Dominion  Government  finally  re- 
solved to  take  definite  action.  An  appeal  was  made 
to  the  Imperial  authorities,  and  the  assurance  was 
given  that  the  Charter  would  be  cancelled,  unless 
reasonable  terms  for  the  purchase  of  the  rights  of 
the  Company  by  Canada  could  be  arranged.  This 
was  very  properly  taken  by  the  Company  as  notice 
to  quit.  Negotiations  finally  resulted  in  the  Canadian 
Government  paying  the  Company  one  million  and  a 
half  dollars  (£300,000)  in  cash.  They  agreed  also  to 
set  apart  tor  the  Company  one  square  mile  and  three 
quarters,  1 120  acres,  in  each  township  hereafter  sur- 
veyed in  the  territory,  south  of  the  North  Saskatche- 
wan river  (about  the  latitude  of  Edmonton),  and  also 
certain  specified  areas  around  the  Company's  posts. 

In  other  words  the  Company  was  to  receive  from 
the  Government  an  extensive  area  in  the  wheat- 
growing  belt.  The  area  that  the  Company  is  entitled 
to  will  eventually  aggregate  seven  million  acres  or 
more,  probably  realizing  $150,000,000  (£3 0,000,000) 
to  the  Company.  If  the  actual  facts  about  the 
fertility  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  the  climatic  conditions, 
had  not  been  so  misrepresented,  no  such  arrangement 


SOMETHING  HIDDEN  35 

would  have  been  possible.  At  the  very  time  that  the 
officials  of  the  Company  were  declaring  that  the  country 
offered  no  inducements  for  settlement,  their  records 
show  that  certain  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Company's 
posts  at  Battleford,  Qu  Appelle,  Edmonton  and  Fort 
Garry,  had  been  under  cultivation  for  more  than  a 
century,  and  that  they  were  then  yielding  bountiful 
crops,  although  the  soil  had  never  been  artificially 
fertilized,  and  was  only  being  cultivated  upon  the 
most  primitive  lines. 

It  had  long  been  evident  to  Canada  that,  in  the 
negotiations  for  the  possession  of  this  territory,  the 
Canadian  Government  was  hopelessly  handicapped  by 
want  of  information.  Not  a  few  explorers  had  fol- 
lowed compelling  impulses  to  search  the  hidden  secrets 
of  the  west,  in  the  manner  so  graphically  described 
by  Kipling — 

"  Something  hidden.     Go  and  find  it. 
Go  and  look  behind  the  Ranges — 
Something  lost  behind  the  Ranges, 
Lost  and  waiting  for  you.     Go." 

And  they  had  gone  to  their  doom.  Instead  of 
returning  to  those  who  anxiously  witnessed  their 
departure,  they  had  found  lonely  graves  in  the  vast 
sunlit  waste  of  the  west.  Perhaps  it  was  too  much 
to  expect  the  Company  to  give  its  case  away  while 
negotiations  were  inevitable  at  some  not  distant  day 
for  the  sale  of  its  rights  to  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 
It  was  also  advisable  that  not  only  the  Government, 
but   the  general  public  should   be   unaware  of    the 


36  LORD   STRATHCONA 

value  of  the  consideration  which  the  Company  would 
demand  for  the  cancellation  of  its  franchise.  Com- 
panies, it  may  be  claimed,  have  no  souls  and  are 
therefore  not  to  be  held  as  strictly  responsible  on 
points  of  honour  as  private  individuals;  and  it  may 
also  be  claimed  with  no  less  force,  that  a  national 
trusteeship  is  a  proper  object  for  exploitation.  This 
view  has  been,  apparently,  accepted  by  those  who 
subsequently  accumulated  wealth  through  the  develop- 
ments that  followed  the  passing  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Territory  over  to  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 


Ill 

Terms  of  purchase  misunderstood — Effect  on  Company's  shares — 
Panic  on  the  market — Donald  A.  Smith  a  purchaser — The  Riel 
rebellion — The  first  martyr — Lord  Wolseley's  chance. 

On  the  announcement  that  the  Dominion  Govern- 
ment had  carried  the  negotiations  to  a  successful 
conclusion  for  the  possession  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Terri- 
tory, the  investing  public  in  Great  Britain  and  Canada 
conceived  the  erroneous  though,  perhaps,  natural  idea 
that  the  Company  had  been  forced  out  of  its  rights  upon 
very  unfavourable  terms.  A  circulation  of  that  rumour 
was  all  that  was  necessary  to  cause  a  panic  among  a 
large  number  of  the  scattered  shareholders  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  Intense  anxiety  was  mani- 
fested to  effect  sales  on  the  London  market.  The 
holders  of  many  of  these  shares  were  widows  and 
orphans  of  Army  and  Navy  officers  of  limited  means. 
They  had  not  been  officially  notified  or  advised  that, 
under  the  arrangements  which  had  been  effected  with 
Canada,  the  assets  of  the  Company  were  likely  to 
become  exceedingly  valuable,  rendering  dividends  for 
generations  in  excess  of  the  most  sanguine  expectations 
of  the  original  founders  of  the  Company. 

There  was  one,  at  least,  who  did  not  find  his  courage 
deserting  him  at  this  juncture,  nor  was  he  in  any 

37 


88  LORD   STRATHCONA 

doubt  as  to  what  to  do  under  the  circumstances. 
This  was  Donald  A.  Smith,  the  then  Resident- 
Governor  in  Canada  of  the  Company.  His  purpose 
was  not  made  known  to  the  public,  nor  did  he  feel 
that  he  was  called  upon  to  take  the  panic-stricken 
shareholders  into  his  confidence.  If  he  had  faith  in 
the  ultimate  wealth  that  would  accrue  to  the  Company 
as  the  result  of  the  bargain  that  had  been  made  with 
the  Canadian  Government ;  and  if  those  whom  he 
represented  in  the  Company's  management  in  Canada 
had  not  sufficient  confidence  in  him  to  ask  his  advice, 
the  mistake  they  made  in  parting  with  their  shares, 
as  well  as  the  consequences  of  their  want  of  faith  in 
the  future  of  the  Company,  must  be  their  own.  On 
his  side  Donald  A.  Smith  could  claim  that  if  he  had 
become  possessed  of  information  which  might  be  turned 
to  his  personal  profit,  it  could  scarcely  be  expected 
that  he  would  proclaim  it  from  the  housetops. 

It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  Donald  A. 
Smith's  hand  was  not  seen  in  the  market,  but  that 
through  trusted  agents  he  secretly  purchased  all  the 
Hudson's  Bay  stock  that  was  offered.  His  confidants 
served  him  well.  Not  a  proffered  share  was  missed,  and 
not  a  hint  of  the  great  coup  that  was  being  effected  got 
beyond  the  trusted  circle.  The  prices  ran  from  £g  to 
£12  per  share.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  by  191 1 
the  shares  of  the  Company  were  quoted  on  the  Lon- 
don Stock  Exchange  at  £130,  an  increase  in  value  of 
over  thirteen  hundred  per  cent.  In  addition  to  this, 
however,  between  1872  and  191 1  the  entire  capital 


AN  EASY  ROAD  TO   FORTUNE  39 

stock  of  the  Company  was  repaid  to  the  shareholders 
in  full  six  times  in  the  form  of  special  bonuses,  ex- 
clusive of  ordinary  dividends.     Others  in  his  position 
and  with  his  aspirations,  perhaps,  would  have  followed 
exactly  the  same  course.   But  very  many,  whose  worldly 
possessions  were  somewhat  limited,  only  learned  when 
it  was  too  late  that  in  parting  hastily  with  their  shares 
they  had  unconsciously  assisted  the  chief  officer  of 
the  Company  in  Canada  to  realize  the  ambition  of  a 
lifetime.     Donald  A.   Smith  found  himself  after  the 
panic  in  the  market  had  passed  in  actual  control  of 
the  Company.     Henceforth  he  would  no  longer  be 
the  subordinate  of  a  London  Directorate.     He  could 
elect  the  members  of   the  Board  himself,  he   would 
appoint    the   officers    of    the    Company,    he    would 
control  its  policy,  he  could  also  pay  off    some  old 
scores  in  the  West ;  and,  far  more  important  than 
any  other  consideration,  he  would  be  the  principal 
participator  in  the  enormous  profits  that  must  even- 
tually accrue  to  the  Company  as  the  result  of  the 
favourable   terms   which   had    been   made   with   the 
Dominion    of   Canada.      In  conversation   once  with 
the  writer  on  the  subject  of  his  large  holdings  in  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  Lord  Strathcona  intimated 
that  it  was  the  proudest  moment  of  his  life  when  he 
finally  secured  control  of  the  majority  of  the  shares 
of  the  Company.     This  possibility  had  always  seemed 
so  absolutely  remote  that  he  could  hardly  realize  the 
fact  when  it  was  accomplished. 
The  payment  of  the  amount  agreed  upon,  however, 


40  LORD   STRATHCONA 

did  *not  ensure  peaceable  possession  of  the  territory  by 
Canada.     The  first  evidence  of  the  intention  of  the 
Government   to  assume  control  was  coincident  with 
an  outbreak  of  rebellion  of  half-breeds  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Louis  Riel.     This  action  of  a  portion  of  the 
native  population  might  possibly  be  looked  upon  as  the 
natural  outcome  of  the  oft-repeated  advice  of  the  Com- 
pany about  the  alleged  danger  to  the  native  races  of 
allowing  whites,  who  were  not  in  the  service  of  the 
Company,  to  enter  the  territory.     The  half-breeds  had 
everything  in  common  with  the  full-blooded  Indians, 
although  a  great  many  of  them  had  holdings  of  their 
own  along  the  banks  of  the  Red  River,  as  well  as  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Company's  headquarters  at  Fort  Garry. 
The  leader  of  the  rebellion,  Louis  Riel,  was  an  educated 
half-breed.     All  his  sympathies,  as  well  as  his  associa- 
tions, were  with  the  full-blooded  Indians.    The  Church 
had   educated   him   hoping   to   capture  him   for   the 
priesthood.     Unfortunately   it   had   failed.     He   pre- 
ferred to  be  recognized  rather  as  in  full  sympathy 
with  the  Indians,  than  as  a  half-breed,  and  he  was 
looked    upon    by    them  as  their   leader.     Everything 
that  might  prejudicially  affect  the  tribes  was  regarded 
by  him  as  having  a  bearing  on  his  own   life.     Louis 
Riel  had  imbibed  to  the  fullest  extent  the  teachings 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  as  to  the  undesirability 
of    the  presence  of   white  men  in  the  territory  who 
were  outside  its  charmed  circle.     The  chief  resident 
officers  of  the  Company  might  be  forced  to  change 
their  views  on  this  subject,  but  the  sudden  change 


REASONS  FOR  REBELLION  41 

was  a  sharper  corner  than  Louis  Riel  and  his  followers 
could  easily  accommodate  themselves  to. 

Information  had  reached  the  outside  world  that 
the  negotiations  between  the  Government  and  the 
Company  were  likely  to  be  successful,  and  already 
a  few  enterprising  and  restless  spirits  from  the  western 
States  had  arrived  at  Fort  Garry.  Their  presence 
was  regarded  by  the  Indians  and  half-breeds  as 
ominous  of  a  flood  that  might  soon  roll  on  with  resist- 
less fury,  unless  the  new-comers  were  dealt  with  in 
the  most  summary  manner.  The  unhappy  results 
of  leniency,  judged  from  an  Indian  standpoint,  were 
only  too  evident  in  the  events  that  were  taking  place 
in  the  republic  immediately  to  the  south,  where  the 
Indians  were  being  slaughtered,  rapined  and  robbed 
of  their  ancient  heritage  without  the  smallest  mercy. 
The  fears  so  carefully  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the 
Indians  by  the  Company  for  generations,  until  they 
had  become  a  tradition,  became  intensified,  and  this 
was  one  of  the  great  forces  behind  the  rebellion. 

During  the  absence  of  the  local  Governor  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  the  east,  Louis  Riel  and 
his  followers  got  beyond  control.  Suggestions  were 
made  later  that  local  officers  of  the  Company  en- 
couraged Riel  in  the  early  stages  of  the  rebellion. 
At  any  rate  Riel  procured  all  his  arms  and  ammunition 
from  the  stores  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
Encouraged  by  the  fact  that  there  was  no  authority 
to  question  his  power,  Riel  caused  the  arrest  of  some 
of  the  most    pronounced  opponents    to  the    course 


42  LORD   STRATHCONA 

that  he  was  taking.  One  Thomas  Scott,  although 
he  had  not  been  the  least  offensive  to  the  half-breeds, 
incurred  RiePs  displeasure.  After  a  summary  trial  by 
the  provisional  government  which  Riel  had  formed, 
Scott  was  sentenced  to  death,  and  secretly  buried  under 
cover  of  night.  Those  who  took  part  in  the  grim 
tragedy  allowed  no  ceremony  to  sanctify  the  grave. 
The  spot  was  not  marked,  nor  was  it  ever  known,  though 
many  years  afterwards,  when  Winnipeg  was  expanding 
into  a  city,  the  solitary  skeleton  of  a  man  was  found 
where  labourers  were  excavating  for  the  foundations 
of  a  great  warehouse. 

The  murder  of  Scott  seemed  to  rouse  the  dormant 
Indian  passions,  and  a  general  massacre  of  the  whites 
was  feared.  To  secure  protection  they  took  refuge 
within  the  palisade  of  the  Company's  fort.  Pre- 
parations were  made  for  an  attack,  which  fortunately 
did  not  take  place.  The  Nemesis  following  the 
unwise  policy  that  the  Company  had  so  determinedly 
carried  out  in  regard  to  the  presence  of  whites  in  the 
territory  seemed  imminent.  They  had  fired  a  mine 
which  threatened  appalling  results.  Fortunately, 
however,  there  was  a  protective  power  at  hand. 

In  the  meantime  the  authorities  at  Ottawa,  un- 
conscious of  the  serious  trend  of  events  at  Fort  Garry, 
were  constructing  the  basis  of  official  administration 
in  the  newly  acquired  territory.  A  member  of  the 
Cabinet,  Hon.  William  Macdougal,  an  exceedingly 
able  administrator,  was  appointed  Lieut. -Governor. 
He  selected  his  staff  and  proceeded  to    Fort  Garry 


A  GOVERNOR  WITHOUT  AUTHORITY  43 

(Winnipeg)  by  rail  as  far  as  he  could  go  through  the 
United  States,  and  then  by  overland  stages  to  the 
Canadian  border.  Here,  however,  he  was  faced  by 
Louis  Riel's  provisional  government,  and  threatened 
with  Scott's  fate  if  the  party  persisted  in  entering 
the  country.  The  prospects  were  not  encouraging, 
as  Mr.  Macdougal  had  no  military  force  to  assist  in 
his  administration  of  the  country.  He  therefore 
retraced  his  steps  to  eastern  Canada — only  to  make 
the  amazing  discovery  when  he  arrived  at  Ottawa, 
that  owing  to  carelessness,  excitement  or  worse  in 
official  circles,  caused  probably  by  the  disturbing 
news  that  had  reached  the  capital  after  his  departure 
for  the  west,  the  Governor  General's  Proclama- 
tion annexing  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory  to  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  had  not  been  issued.  In  point 
of  fact,  therefore,  the  so-called  Lieut.-Governor  of 
the  Territory  who  had  appeared  on  the  threshold 
of  the  west,  and  had  been  refused  admission  by 
Riel,  had  really  no  official  standing  whatever.  The 
position  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  did  not, 
in  fact,  exist.  On  his  return  to  Ottawa,  Parliament 
being  in  session,  he  resumed  his  seat,  occupying  a 
desk  on  the  Opposition  side  of  the  House,  from 
whence  he  demanded  explanations  from  the  Govern- 
ment ;  for  when  news  of  Scott's  fate  reached  eastern 
Canada  the  whole  country  became  infuriated.  With 
the  general  condemnation  of  Riel,  there  were  many 
who  found  a  palliation  for  his  offence  in  consequence 
of  the  blame  attached  to  the  long-continued  policy 


44  LORD   STRATHCONA 

of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  officials.  They  were 
severely  censured  for  not  breaking  down  the  barrier 
they  had  erected  between  the  native  population  and 
the  explorers ;  or,  at  any  rate,  in  making  no  attempt 
to  allay  the  fears  that  they  had  fostered  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  new  administration.  The  view  was 
held  strongly  in  official  circles  that  Riel  was  not 
altogether  at  fault,  or  if  so  his  offence  was  not  too 
great  to  be  pardoned.  Archbishop  Tache  declared 
that  the  Government  authorized  him  to  promise 
Riel  an  amnesty,  and  under  instructions  from  Sir 
John  Macdonald,1  Donald  A.  Smith  secretly  paid  Riel 
$5,000  to  leave  the  country  for  the  time  being. 

The  promise  of  an  amnesty  was  afterwards  denied 
by  the  Government.  At  any  rate,  it  was  unfulfilled. 
In  the  end2  Louis  Riel,  once  patriot,  leader,  the  idol 
of  a  proud  and  fiery  race,  expiated  his  crime  as  if  he 
had  been  merely  the  commonest  murderer.  Few 
tears  were  shed  for  his  lost  glory,  except  in  the  province 
of  Quebec,  where  there  are  still  many  who  cherish 
the  memory  of  the  misguided  patriot  of  those  days. 

Viewing  the  situation  from  Ottawa,  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  that  a  military  expedition  should  be  des- 
patched to  Fort  Garry  for  the  purpose  of  quieting  the 
disturbances  in  the  newly  acquired  possessions.  This 
became  more  evident  when  the  Lieut.-Governor,  who 
had  been  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  new  province 
by  the  Governor-General,  returned  to  Ottawa.     Pre- 

1  Parliamentary  Inquiry,  1873. 
1  The  second  outbreak,  1885. 


GETTING   A   CHANCE  45 

parations  were  immediately  set  on  foot,  so  that  the 
expedition  should  reach  the  seat  of  trouble  as  early 
as  possible.  Fortunately  an  experienced  officer  was 
obtained  to  command  the  Force.  Colonel  Wolseley, 
later  Lord  Wolseley,  was  in  Canada  at  this  time  as 
Adjutant-General  of  the  Militia ;  though  when  his 
name  was  first  suggested  for  the  position,  it  was 
vetoed  on  account  of  his  alleged  lack  of  experience. 
The  Governor-General,  with  characteristic  British 
officialism,  wanted  to  have  a  high  officer  from  England 
placed  in  command  of  the  expedition.  But  Sir 
George  Cartier,  Minister  of  Militia,  insisted  upon 
Colonel  Wolseley's  appointment,  and  he  was  placed 
in  command.  This  decision  was  no  sooner  announced 
than  Wolseley  received  cables  from  Lieut.  Butler 
(afterwards  Sir  William)  and  Lieut.  Buller  (afterwards 
Sir  Redvers)  asking  that  they  might  accompany  the 
expedition. 

Accounts  could  be  given  of  interesting  incidents, 
belonging  to  the  present  generation,  in  connection 
with  life  in  Canada,  but  probably  none  would  be 
more  romantic  than  the  strange  part  the  Riel  Rebellion 
played  in  the  military  careers  of  each  of  these  officers. 
The  Expedition  furnished  the  occasion  that  mili- 
tary genius  longs  for,  the  prospect  of  active  service. 
Thirty  years  from  the  date  of  this  experience,  one 
of  these  officers  was  occupying  a  seat  in  the  House 
of  Lords  as  the  result  of  an  honoured  and  successful 
career,  having  also  become  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  British  Army.     Another  paid  the  penalty  so  often 


46  LORD   STRATHCONA 

exacted  in  South  African  service,  only  to  have  his 
memory  more  than  vindicated  after  his  remains  had 
been  consigned  to  their  last  resting-place.  The  last- 
named  commander  had  the  greatest  army  that  ever 
left  the  shores  of  Great  Britain  on  foreign  service, 
and  later  found  an  almost  insurmountable  task  amid 
the  mountains  surrounding  Ladysmith.  All  three, 
however,  were  enabled  to  make  a  decided  step  upwards 
in  military  service  by  their  connection  with  Louis 
RiePs  rebellion  and  the  Red  River  expedition. 


IV 

Canadian  troops  at  Fort  Garry — Treating  with  the  rebels — The 
Company  and  the  rebellion — New  trading  conditions — Compe- 
tition with  a  tinker. 

News  from  the  west  caused  great  anxiety  to  the 
Canadian  public,  and  they  chafed  at  the  delay  which 
was  necessary  before  the  preparations  for  an  unexpected 
campaign  could  be  completed.  The  proposal  was 
made  in  the  early  weeks  of  the  trouble  that  the  forces 
might  perhaps  be  allowed  to  pass  through  the  United 
States,  using  the  American  western  railway  system,  thus 
reaching  the  objective  point  much  more  expeditiously 
than  could  be  done  by  the  long  overland  route  through 
the  Canadian  forests.  This,  however,  was  found  to  be 
impracticable.  The  expedition  could  only  go  through 
the  United  States  as  private  citizens,  and  not  as  a 
military  force ;  in  which  case  arms  and  ammunition 
would  have  to  go  as  ordinary  freight.  In  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  proposition  difficulties  were  encountered 
that  could  not  be  overcome.  The  ill-feeling  engen- 
dered in  the  United  States  against  Great  Britain  by 
the  memorable  Trent  affair  1  had  not  yet  subsided. 

1  The  "  Trent  affair "  was  the  occasion  of  serious  diplomatic 
complications  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  It  was 
caused  by  the  government  of  the  Republic  arresting  Mason  and  Sliddell, 
two  representatives  of  the  confederacy  of  the  Southern  States,  during 

47 


48  LORD   STRATHCONA 

At*his  time,  also,  the  Fenian  organization  was  active 
in  the  Republic.  There  had  already  been  two 
filibustering  expeditions  from  the  United  States  to 
Canada  in  recent  years,  leaving  very  aggravating 
memories.  It  was  recognized  that  the  administration 
at  Washington  could  not  afford  to  take  the  risk  of 
offending  the  Irish,  and  thus  probably  losing  that 
vote  in  a  Presidential  election.  And  if  any  further 
objections  were  needed  to  the  carrying  out  of  such 
a  proposal,  they  were  furnished  by  the  circulation  of 
the  rumour  that  the  Fenian  leaders  were  on  their  way 
to  the  west  to  offer  their  services  to  Louis  Riel. 

Under  these  circumstances  there  was  nothing  for  the 
expedition  to  do  but  make  its  passage  entirely  through 
Canadian  territory.  This  necessitated  a  journey  of 
nearly  four  hundred  miles  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie  by  the 
Great  Lakes,  where  the  expedition  had  to  tranship 
everything  to  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river,  the  only 
navigable  passage  connecting  the  Georgian  Bay  and 
Lake  Superior  being  in  United  States  territory.  They 
had  to  take  ship  again  at  the  western  end  of  the  river 
and  sail  four  hundred  miles  further  west  to  Fort  William. 
Here  the  difficulties  of  the  expedition  really  com- 
menced.    It  was  necessary  that  they  should  cut  their 


the  civil  war,  who  were  on  their  way  to  Europe  in  a  registered 
British  steamship.  Great  Britain  denied  the  right  of  the  United 
States  to  commit  the  act  in  question,  and  eventually  presented  an 
ultimatum  to  the  United  States  Government,  demanding  the  im- 
mediate delivery  of  the  persons  on  British  territory.  The  bitterness 
growing  out  of  that  incident  continued  for  many  years. 


THE   REBELS   IN   CONTROL  49 

way,  and  build  a  military  road,  through  nearly  six 
hundred  miles  of  virgin  forest,  and  over  a  mountainous 
and  well-watered  country.  This  was  the  task  for 
which  Colonel  Garnet  Wolseley  had  assumed  responsi- 
bility. It  was  a  work  worthy  of  the  best  traditions 
of  the  British  Army.  A  faint  conception  of  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  undertaking  can  be  realized  by  a  trip 
over  either  of  the  two  great  railway  lines  now  running 
between  Wolseley's  objective  points — Fort  William  and 
Winnipeg.  Whatever  the  expedition  lacked  in  actual 
military  glory  was  amply  compensated  for  by  the 
success  attending  the  stupendous  transport  arrange- 
ments through  such  a  country. 

While  the  expedition  was  cutting  its  way  through 
the  Canadian  forests,  nothing  was  being  left  undone 
to  secure  a  peaceable  termination  of  the  situation  at  Fort 
Garry.  Riel  had  formed  his  government,  and  was  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  in  possession  of  the  territory. 
Beyond  the  murder  of  Scott  no  overt  act  had  been  com- 
mitted, although  the  few  other  English  arrivals  did  not 
know  how  soon  they  might  meet  the  same  fate.  The 
venerable  Archbishop  of  St.  Boniface,  who  was  paying 
an  official  visit  to  Rome,  was  cabled  to  return,  in  order 
that  he  might  assist  in  persuading  Riel  and  his  followers 
to  acknowledge  the  properly  constituted  authorities. 
Leading  Protestant  missionaries  had  also  hurried  to 
Fort  Garry  from  the  interior,  to  render  assistance 
with  the  Indians  to  whom  they  had  been  ministering, 
in  case  they  also  should  make  their  way  to  the  storm 
centre.     Donald   A.    Smith,  who  was    then   in    Old 


50  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Canada,  hurried  off  by  rail  to  the  extremity  of  the 
United  States  system,  and  thence  by  horses  over 
the  western  prairies  of  the  United  States  to  Fort 
Garry,  where  he  arrived  long  before  the  military 
expedition  could  possibly  put  in  an  appearance. 
Meanwhile  the  clergy  of  his  own  Church  had  held 
Riel  in  check. 

Immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  Donald  A.  Smith, 
official  negotiations  were  opened  with  Riel,  and  in 
this  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  rendered  great 
assistance.  But  before  this  point  had  been  reached  an 
important  interview  took  place  between  Donald  A. 
and  Riel.  The  former  reached  the  Stone  Fort 
at  Selkirk  late  at  night.  Riel  heard  of  his  arrival, 
and  immediately  went  up  the  river  to  see  him.  He 
was  told  by  the  attendant  that  Mr.  Smith  had  retired 
for  the  night,  but  he  insisted  that  he  must  see  him. 
While  the  attendant  went  to  inquire  whether  Mr. 
Smith  would  see  Riel,  the  latter  walked  into  the 
bedroom  unannounced.  His  reception,  however,  was 
such  that  he  returned  at  once,  passing  out  of  the 
gates  with  a  crushed  appearance,  in  strong  contrast 
to  the  manner  that  he  had  been  assuming  for  several 
weeks  in  the  settlement.  The  brief  interview  at  the 
Stone  Fort  opened  his  eyes.  Certain  promises  were 
made  to  Riel  and  his  followers,  in  the  course  of  the 
negotiations,  which  afterwards  had  a  most  disturbing 
effect  in  Canadian  politics,  and  in  regard  to  which 
Donald  A.  Smith  and  the  clergy  seem  to  have  retained 
most  strangely  contradictory  recollections  of  the  same 


FEARFUL  OF  THE   FACTS  51 

events.  At  any  rate,  Riel  was  persuaded  to  see 
the  error  of  his  ways.  He  was  paid  $5,000  (£1,000) 
by  Donald  A.  Smith  under  confidential  instructions 
by  Sir  John  Macdonald,  who  afterwards  reimbursed 
him  from  the  Secret  Service  Fund  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Ottawa  Government  by  Parliament. 
Riel  then  left  the  scene  of  the  rebellion  to  reside 
in  the  United  States  until  the  promises  made  to  him 
should  be  fulfilled. 

Lord  Strathcona  regarded  with  much  uneasiness 
fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago  the  frequently-repeated 
insinuation  as  to  the  complicity  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  and  his  own  colleagues  in  the  unfortunate 
rebellion.  Upon  one  well-known  occasion,  during  the 
lifetime  of  the  late  Archbishop  Tache,  he  visited  Winni- 
peg, and  endeavoured  to  get  the  approval  of  that  great 
leader  of  the  Roman  Catholic  hierarchy  to  a  statement 
that  the  officials  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  were 
absolutely  free  from  complicity  in  the  Louis  Riel 
episode.  But  the  venerable  Archbishop  quietly  in- 
timated that,  if  any  such  statement  was  made  by 
Lord  Strathcona,  he  would  produce  documents  that 
would  settle  that  question  definitely  for  all  time, 
upon  lines  that  would  create  a  startling  sensation 
throughout  Canada.  Consequently  negotiations  came 
to  a  termination  somewhat  hurriedly.  It  is  no  longer 
a  secret  that  the  archives  of  the  Archbishop's  Palace 
at  St.  Boniface  contain  important  documents  bearing 
upon  this  subject,  and  it  is  equally  well  known  in 
influential  circles  that  among  the  papers  left  by  the 


52  LORD   STRATHCONA 

late  Governor  McTavish,  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, most  interesting  confirmatory  information  of 
the  archiepiscopal  documents  is  available.  The  late 
Archbishop  was  credited,  however,  with  stating  that 
unless  forced  to  do  so  he  would  allow  nothing  to  be 
made  public  during  the  lifetime  of  any  of  the  three 
who  had  been  active  participants  in  this  piece  of 
Canadian  history.  The  peculiar  thoughts  that  must 
have  visited  Lord  Strathcona  when  he  received  Her 
Majesty's  Medal  for  assisting  to  suppress  that  re- 
bellion, with  which  undefined  and  vague  but  very 
suggestive  rumour  credited  the  officials  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  with  having  had  not  a  little  to  do, 
and  he  on  account  of  his  official  position  not  being 
altogether  free  from  blame,  would  surely  be  worth  a 
historian's  attention. 

When  the  expedition  arrived  at  Fort  Garry  under 
Colonel  Wolseley,  the  rebellion  was  at  an  end,  but  it 
was  regarded  as  advisable  for  the  Force  to  remain  in 
the  country  during  the  approaching  winter,  then  fast 
setting  in. 

Outside  the  commissariat  accompanying  the  expedi- 
tion, the  main  source  of  the  supplies  required  for  the 
troops  was  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  In  fact  up  to 
this  time  there  had  been  no  competition  with  the  Com- 
pany throughout  that  vast  territory  in  the  way  of 
buying  or  selling.  The  Company  had  been  unbridled 
autocrats  there  for  two  hundred  years.  Not  only 
had  they  monopolized  the  trade,  but  they  had  assumed 
authority  over  human  life  as  well.     What  was  more 


FOUNDATION  OF  A  FORTUNE  53 

natural  than  to  believe  that  the  "  sceptre  had  not 
departed  from  Israel "  ?  With  the  requirements  of 
the  troops  there  came  a  rude  awakening  as  evidence 
of  the  changed  situation,  the  importance  of  which  the 
officers  of  the  Company  seemed  scarcely  able  to 
comprehend.  A  young  tinker  had  wandered  to  Fort 
Garry  from  the  western  states,  drawn  thither  by  the 
rumours  that  Canada  had  assumed  the  government 
of  the  territory.  He  had  reached  there  about  the 
time  that  Thomas  Scott  arrived,  and  his  escape  from 
Scott's  fate  had  hung  on  little  more  than  a  gamble. 
It  was  a  question  with  Riel's  government  whether 
Thomas  Scott  or  John  Ashdown  should  be  arrested. 
Ashdown's  fate  is  said  to  have  been  decided  on  the 
chance  drawing  of  two  straws  of  unequal  length. 
The  tinker  escaped,  only  to  find  himself  very  soon 
afterwards  in  sharp  business  competition  with  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Certain  heating  supplies  had  been  forwarded  from 
the  east  for  the  troops,  but,  with  the  usual  military 
want  of  method,  lacking  a  most  necessary  attachment. 
This  omission  necessitated  a  formal  notice  appearing 
at  headquarters  asking  for  tenders  for  a  supply  of 
stove-pipes.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  sent  in  a 
tender,  as  did  also  John  Ashdown.  The  latter  quoted 
a  much  lower  figure,  but  the  Company  had  not  much 
trouble  in  convincing  the  military  authorities  that  the 
unknown  tinker  was  not  in  a  position  to  do  the  work. 
The  contract  was,  therefore,  given  to  the  Company, 
but  they  had  no  tinsmith  in  their  employ.     They 


54  LORD   STRATHCONA 

then  wanted  to  engage  the  services  of  the  practical 
tenderer,  but  he  declined  to  work  for  them,  when  he 
learned  that  the  price  at  which  the  contract  had  been 
secured  by  them  was  far  in  excess  of  his  own  modest 
figure.  The  Company  requested  the  assistance  of 
the  military  to  make  the  "  culprit  "  work.  No  other 
tinker  was  known  to  be  within  five  hundred  miles  of 
Fort  Garry.  Colonel  Wolseley  cut  the  dispute  short 
by  cancelling  the  contract  with  the  Company,  and 
giving  it  to  the  tinker. 

With  the  assistance  that  John  Ashdown  was  able 
to  secure  from  the  ranks  of  the  military  the  contract 
was  completed  within  the  stipulated  time.  This  was 
the  first  intimation  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
received  that  others  had  equal  rights  with  them  in 
the  trade  of  the  west.  The  particular  interest  at- 
taching to  the  incident  is  due  to  the  fact  that  by  this 
contract  was  laid  the  foundation  of  one  of  the  most 
extensive  business  establishments  now  in  western 
Canada.  When  the  site  of  Fort  Garry  became  a 
great  city,  the  successful  tenderer  of  that  day  was 
elected  to  the  most  prominent  positions  in  the  gift 
of  his  fellow-citizens.  Long  before  the  shadows  had 
begun  to  lengthen  in  his  life,  he  had  accumulated  an 
immense  fortune  by  legitimate  business,  and  to  his 
credit  it  may  be  said,  he  never  used  any  public  position 
that  he  occupied  for  the  purpose  of  advancing  his 
personal  or  financial  interests. 

In  other  ways,  too,  old  conditions  were  giving  place 
to  new.     With  the  legitimate  trader,  now  admitted 


ROBBING  THE  HALF-BREEDS  55 

to  a  hitherto  closed  territory  for  the  first  time,  had 
come  the  restless  wandering  speculator,  whose  gambling 
instinct  scents  opportunities  from  afar.  He  never 
comes  like  a  thief  in  the  night,  but  rollicking  and 
daring  he  soon  makes  both  his  presence  and  his  business 
known,  with  the  natural  result  that  the  quiet,  silent, 
shrewd  man  of  business,  following  the  path  blazed 
by  the  other,  reaches  the  objective  point  with  much 
greater  profit. 

Under  the  terms  of  an  agreement  with  the  Ottawa 
Government,  the  half-breeds  were  each  entitled  to  a 
goodly  block  of  land.  Their  partial  rights  to  pro- 
prietorship in  the  west  were  acknowledged  in  this  form. 
In  this  way,  also,  all  cause  for  the  complaints  that  had 
been  fostered  by  the  rebellion  would  probably  be  re- 
moved. As  it  was  not  possible  to  give  titles  until  the 
land  could  be  surveyed,  the  Government  issued  what  is 
known  in  the  west  as  Scrip — a  form  of  contract  which 
was  to  be  redeemed  by  the  Government  for  lands  after- 
wards. Unfortunately  for  the  half-breeds  this  Scrip 
was  negotiable.  The  half-breeds  were  perfectly  un- 
conscious as  to  the  value  of  the  Scrip.  To  many  of 
them  it  was  only  a  nicely  printed  piece  of  paper, 
worth,  possibly,  not  much  more  than  any  other  piece 
of  paper.  The  speculator  was  on  the  look-out.  To 
him  the  native  is  always  fair  game  for  exploitation. 
However,  but  little  of  the  Scrip  had  reached  the 
speculator's  possession  before  a  shrewd  man  of  busi- 
ness within  the  walls  of  Fort  Garry  and  the  Lower 
Fort  grasped  the  possibilities  from  the  possession  of 


56  LORD   STRATHCONA 

the  Government  "  promise  to  pay."  When  it  came 
to  a  competition  between  the  man  on  the  spot,  with 
whom  the  half-breeds  were  accustomed  to  do  business, 
and  the  man  outside,  the  latter  had  small  chance.  It 
is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  officers  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  plunged  into  the  ways  of  the 
stranger.  A  well-known  resident  of  Calgary,  who  was 
one  of  the  chief  clerks  in  the  Government  Registry 
Office  in  Manitoba  in  those  early  days,  is  the  authority 
for  the  statement  that  tens  of  thousands  of  acres  of  these 
lands  passed  into  the  hands  of  very  high-placed  officials 
of  the  Company,  out  of  which  very  large  fortunes  were 
afterwards  realized.  The  early  records  of  the  Registry 
Office  bear  witness  to  the  manner  in  which  the  guileless 
natives  were  done  out  of  their  proprietary  rights  to 
this  Scrip,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  handed  over 
for  no  other  consideration  than  a  blanket,  a  pipe,  or  a 
plug  of  tobacco. 


Donald  A.  Smith  elected  to  Parliament — Knowledge  of  the  west — 
Dream  of  wealth  and  power — A  great  leader — Parliamentary 
talent — Buying  a  public  franchise — Election  subscriptions — 
Pacific  scandal. 

It  was  fitting  that  the  first  Parliamentary  constituency 
in  the  newly  acquired  west  should  be  named  Selkirk, 
in  order  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  that  courageous 
voyager  who  with  his  intrepid  companions  settled  along 
the  Red  River  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Lower 
Fort,  as  the  settlement  around  the  Stone  Fort  was 
called,  as  distinguished  from  Fort  Garry,  sometimes 
called  the  Upper  Fort,  had  been  the  controlling  centre 
of  the  vast  territory  ruled  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany for  two  centuries.  The  old  wooden  palisades 
had  given  place  to  stone  walls  after  the  Company 
absorbed  its  great  rival,  the  North-West  Fur  Trading 
Company. 

The  erection  was  commenced  in  183 1  and  completed 
in  1839,  and  was  the  first  lime  and  stone  building 
erected  between  Lake  Superior  and  the  western  slopes 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Within  the  five  acres  sur- 
rounded by  these  loop-holed  stone  walls  and  mediaeval 
bastions,  from  which  a  shot  had  never  been  fired, 
more  than  half  a  continent  had  been  peacefully 
governed.     It  was   the   great   meeting-place   of   the 

57 


58  LORD   STRATHCONA 

easf,  the  west  and  the  north.  Representatives  of 
the  Company  from  the  Arctic  Circle  to  the  sunny 
slopes  of  the  Pacific,  from  the  north  of  Hudson  Bay 
to  country  inhabited  by  the  fierce  tribes  in  the  more 
western  of  the  United  States,  from  the  Lakes  to  the 
heights  of  the  Rockies,  gathered  once  a  year  around 
the  hospitable  board  of  the  Deputy-Governor  to 
exchange  long-pent-up  confidences. 

Here  was  the  flotilla  of  boats  with  supplies  for  the 
interior  in  exchange  for  furs  brought  to  this  point 
by  the  trusted  servants  of  the  Company.  Here,  too, 
would  take  place  that  distribution  of  letters,  periodicals 
and  newspapers  that  told  of  the  changes  taking  place 
in  the  outside  world,  the  coming  and  going  of  empires 
and  dynasties  long  after  the  events  had  taken  place. 
Representatives  would  settle  the  policy  to  be  carried 
out  for  another  year  in  a  few  hours  which  it  would 
take  statesmen  months  or  years  to  decide  under  ordinary 
red-tape  conditions.  The  fashions  in  furs  to  be 
adopted  in  Paris  would  be  settled  in  much  the  same 
expeditious  manner.  In  those  far-off  days  the  curse 
of  civilization  and  its  greed  for  gold  had  not  blighted 
their  finer  susceptibilities.  It  was  the  meeting-place 
of  the  self-sacrificing  and  faithful,  who,  while  serving 
the  Company,  were  holding  an  empire  for  unborn 
generations.  Their  wants  were  few,  their  honesty 
absolute,  their  loyalty  unquestioned.  Here,  also, 
was  an  outpost  of  science.  While  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries were  at  the  same  time  trying  to  learn  the  secrets 
of  Nature  controlling  seismism  and  atmospheric 
cataclysms  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and  throughout 


ELECTED   TO   PARLIAMENT  59 

the  Indian  Ocean,  the  officials  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  were  collecting  in  their  archives  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Red  River  records  of  the  meteorological 
and  agricultural  secrets  of  the  "  frozen  north."  To 
realize  the  extent  of  these  researches  one  must  examine 
the  originals,  as  the  writer  has  had  an  opportunity  of 
doing.  Yet  a  singular  difference  in  the  methods 
adopted  by  these  two  great  inquiring  agencies  is 
noticeable.  The  Jesuits  lost  no  time  in  making  their 
discoveries  known  to  the  world,  while  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  records  largely  remained  a  secret  until 
their  jurisdiction  over  the  territory  ceased. 

The  annexation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory  was 
immediately  followed  by  representation  being  accorded 
to  the  new  country  in  the  Canadian  Parliament.  It 
was  perfectly  natural  that  the  first  member  to  be  elected 
in  1 871  should  be  the  Vice-Governor  of  the  Company, 
Donald  A.  Smith.  When  he  took  his  seat  in  the 
House  of  Commons  as  a  supporter  of  the  Government 
of  the  day,  which  was  led  by  Sir  John  Macdonald, 
he  was  heartily  received  by  both  political  parties  as 
the  representative  of  the  New  West.  On  all  sides 
it  was  recognized  that  his  presence  at  Ottawa  marked 
a  distinct  advance  in  the  aspirations  of  the  young 
Dominion.  The  Liberals  welcomed  Donald  A.  Smith, 
not  in  his  personal  capacity  as  a  supporter  of  the 
administration,  but  as  the  representative  of  the 
territory,  the  control  of  which  by  the  Government 
of  Canada  they  had  long  advocated.  But  neither 
side  guessed  in  that  typical  western  figure  the 
hidden    power   which   was    destined    to    mould    the 


60  LORD   STRATHCONA 

history  of  the  country  to  his  own  purposes,  nor  that 
so  many  of  their  number,  whether  willing  or  not, 
should  be  in  his  hands  as  the  clay  to  the  potter. 
From  this  point  may  be  dated  a  romantic  career, 
more  interesting  in  all  its  details,  and  more  far-reaching 
in  its  results  upon  the  commercial,  social  and  political 
life  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  than  has  been  fur- 
nished by  any  other  individual  in  the  history  of  the 
British  Colonies. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  a  marked  similarity  exists 
between  the  lives  and  characters  of  Donald  A.  Smith 
and  Cecil  Rhodes  at  this  point  of  their  Parliamentary 
careers.  A  careful  survey  of  the  situation,  however, 
shows  no  resemblance  whatever  in  the  early  stages  of  the 
public  life  of  these  two  great  Colonials.  Cecil  Rhodes 
was  dreaming  of  an  Empire  with  no  personal  advantages 
to  himself,  Donald  A.  Smith  was  dreaming  of  the 
development  of  an  Empire  that  might  be  turned  to 
his  personal  aggrandizement ;  and  as  their  dreams 
developed  into  experience  the  ultimate  ends  each  had 
in  view  became  still  wider  apart.  Cecil  Rhodes  was  a 
born  leader  of  men  in  parliamentary  government  : 
Donald  A.  Smith  was  not,  but  he  had  no  peer  as  a 
shrewd  manipulator  of  political  leaders  for  his  own 
purposes.  Cecil  Rhodes  always  stood  for  the  national 
interests,  personal  considerations  being  secondary : 
Donald  A.  Smith's  personal  interests  were  paramount. 
The  contests  of  the  one  were  fought  out  in  the 
noontide  glare  of  a  public  career  :  the  other  dis- 
comfited his  opponents  in  the  evening  shadows  of 
secret  conferences,  and  behind  carefully-guarded  doors. 


KNOWLEDGE   OF  THE   WEST  61 

Donald  A.  Smith  had  successfully  directed  an  army 
of  officials  employed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company ; 
he  had  controlled,  as  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand,  the 
uncivilized  Indians  throughout  a  vast  territory,  and 
had  successfully  used  their  labour  for  the  profits  of 
his  Company.  The  shrewdness  sharpened  by  such 
experiences  was  soon  to  become  useful  in  a  wider  field. 
Certain  not  altogether  objectionable  characteristics, 
assimilated  by  contact  with  the  red  man,  could  be 
used  advantageously  among  the  whites.  He  had 
also  learned  to  keep  his  own  counsel. 

Donald  A.  Smith  had  an  intimate  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  wonderful  possibilities  of  that  goodly 
land  lying  between  Fort  Garry  and  the  foot-hills  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  faint  echoes  of  information 
that  had  reached  the  outer  world  told  but  little  of  the 
actual  facts.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  living  soul,  taking 
any  interest  whatever  in  the  prospective  development 
of  that  country,  had  a  tithe  of  the  information  that 
the  Canadian  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
possessed.  He  was  equally  familiar  with  the  fertility 
of  the  great  west  of  the  United  States.  For  many 
years,  on  his  journeyings  to  eastern  Canada,  he  had 
traversed  the  prairies  to  the  south  of  the  Company's 
jurisdiction.  He  knew  that  the  northern  area  was  a 
continuation  of  the  same  belt  of  fertility  that  was  the 
basis  of  the  accumulating  wealth  of  Chicago  and 
other  western  cities.  Years  before,  he  had  heard  the 
muffled  thunder  of  countless  herds  of  buffalo  from  the 
United  States,  forced  by  the  advancing  tide  of  western 
settlement,  wend  their  way  up  the  valley  of  the  Red 


62  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Riv*er  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory.  He  had  seen 
them  increase  and  multiply  in  the  area  under  his 
control.  He  knew  that  as  they  had  prospered  in 
the  western  states,  and  even  to  a  greater  extent  in 
British  North  America,  so  could  be  measured  the 
respective  fertility  of  the  two  countries.  He  was  well 
aware  that  where  buffalo  thrive,  cattle  can  feed  by 
the  million,  so  that  probably  in  this  country  wheat 
would  yield  crops  such  as  the  world  had  never  seen. 
He  was  sufficiently  reflective  to  know  that  the  territory 
over  which  he  had  held  jurisdiction  for  so  many  years 
was  favoured  by  Nature  with  two  hours'  longer  sun- 
shine, during  the  wheat-maturing  season,  than  any 
other  wheat-growing  area  in  the  world.  The  value 
of  each  one  of  these  considerations  had  not  escaped 
his  shrewd  calculations. 

Donald  A.  Smith  had  seen  railway  enterprises  in  the 
western  states  grow  to  enormous  corporations  in  a 
decade  or  two.  Native  shrewdness  and  his  peculiar 
knowledge  suggested  that  what  others  had  done  in  the 
neighbouring  republic  he  himself  might  accomplish  in 
Canada.  A  railway  had  already  been  projected  and 
partially  constructed  towards  the  Canadian  border  from 
Minneapolis,  but  it  had  not  realized  its  promoters'  ex- 
pectations, and  the  managers  were  discouraged.  To 
have  that  line  completed,  with  some  assistance  from 
personal  friends,  was  now  his  object.  Before  this, 
however,  the  idea  of  securing  the  control  of  a  charter 
for  the  construction  of  a  Pacific  Railway  through 
Canada  had  become  a  definite  aim. 
The  means  to  accomplish  this  became  the  controlling 


INTRIGUING   FOR   A   CHARTER  63 

influence  of  every  action  of  Donald  A.  Smith  after  he 
had  taken  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons.  But  while 
he  was  dreaming  of  a  continental  charter,  a  far-sighted 
and  enterprising  countryman  of  his  own  was  acting. 
The  general  elections  of  1872  were  about  to  take 
place.  Sir  Hugh  Allan  was  then  head  of  the  great 
steamship  line  that  bore  his  name.  As  a  young  man 
he  had  come  to  Canada  long  before  steam  was  thought 
of  on  the  Atlantic.  From  small  beginnings  he  had 
expanded  his  business  until  his  fleet  had  become  a 
possession  that  Canada  was  proud  of.  Industry  and 
integrity  had  marked  his  life  in  every  particular,  and 
success  had  crowned  his  efforts.  Within  an  inner 
circle  it  was  rumoured  that  he  had  previous  confidential 
experience  in  effecting  arrangements  with  Canadian 
Governments  for  mail  subsidies  for  his  steamship 
line.  At  any  rate  he  selected  an  opportune  time  to 
enter  into  secret  negotiations  with  the  First  Minister 
for  an  arrangement  to  construct  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway.  In  these  conferences  Sir  Hugh  was  accom- 
panied by  the  late  Mr.  J.  J.  C.  Abbott  as  his  confi- 
dential legal  adviser.  This  was  subsequently  proved 
by  the  production  of  the  correspondence  between 
the  contracting  parties  in  the  ensuing  Parliamentary 
inquiry.  Mr.  Abbott  appeared  again  on  the  scene 
seven  years  later  with  other  parties  in  a  similar 
confidential  capacity. 

Sir  John  Macdonald,  the  Premier,  was,  as  has  already 
been  intimated,  about  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  elec- 
torate for  a  renewal  of  confidence  in  the  Government 
which  had  been  in  office  since  Confederation.   He  was  of 


64  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Scotch  descent,  his  parents  having  arrived  in  Canada 
early  in  the  nineteenth  century.  He  was  brought  up 
in  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  and  after  going  to  the 
village  school,  was  apprenticed  as  a  clerk  to  a  lawyer. 
A  wealthy  merchant  at  Kingston  took  a  great  fancy 
to  the  bright  young  lad,  who  under  his  patronage 
was  introduced  into  politics ;  from  that  period  this 
promising  protege  devoted  his  time  untiringly  to 
public  affairs.  A  natural  leader  of  men,  he  quickly 
came  to  the  front.  Eventually,  out-distancing  all 
competitors,  he  became  the  leader  of  his  party  and 
the  Premier  of  Canada.  In  personal  appearance  and 
manner  he  had  a  strong  resemblance  to  Lord  Beacons- 
field.  His  ruling  passion  was  power — not  office  for 
the  mere  sake  of  office,  but  office  for  the  sake  of  the 
power  it  conferred.  To  attain  power  he  risked  every- 
thing, with  the  inevitable  result  that  the  record 
of  aspirations  and  deeds  solely  in  the  interest  of 
his  country,  will  not  altogether  clear  his  reputation 
of  blemishes.  For  a  long  time  he  was  strongly 
opposed  to  the  Confederation  of  the  provinces,  but 
finally  joined  in  its  advocacy,  and  effected  a  coalition 
of  the  leaders  of  both  political  parties  to  carry  it 
through.  Many  of  the  prominent  Liberals  who 
joined  forces  with  him  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  that 
great  project  carried,  and  by  whose  assistance  he  be- 
came the  first  Prime  Minister  under  Confederation, 
separated  themselves  from  him  as  soon  as  the  Union 
became  an  accomplished  fact. 

The  House  of  Commons  possessed  a  highly  satis- 
factory standard  of  public  life  at  this  time.     There 


PUBLIC   LIFE   CLEAN  65 

were  intellectual  giants  in  the  Canadian  Parliament 
in  those  early  days  of  Confederation.  The  political 
stream  had  not  been  sluggish  in  any  of  the  provinces 
for  many  years,  and,  as  is  always  the  case  in  times  of 
political  disturbance,  strong  characters  had  come  into 
the  political  arena. 

Better  far  than  the  evidence  of  intellectual  power 
was  the  fact  that  up  to  this  time  scarcely  a  reputation 
had  been  associated  with  a  minor  political  scandal, 
and  certainly  no  hint  of  personal  corruption  had  been 
suggested.  The  cankerworm,  which  was  so  soon  to 
eat  its  way  into  the  body  politic,  had  not  as  yet  made 
its  appearance.  No  one  but  a  madman  would  have 
prophesied  that  ere  ten  years  had  passed,  the  whole 
standard  of  public  ethics  would  have  changed.  The 
heat  of  battle  in  provincial  politics  was  beginning  to 
be  felt  at  Ottawa.  The  Federal  Opposition  (the 
Liberals)  had  already  captured  the  most  important 
of  the  provincial  legislatures,  and  they  had  grown 
in  strength  and  influence  in  the  Federal  Parliament 
until  they  had  become  a  serious  menace  to  Sir  John 
Macdonald's  retention  of  office. 

Sir  Hugh  Allan  knew  the  Tory  Leader's  intense  love 
of  power,  and  he  also  knew  that  he  looked  forward  with 
some  misgivings  to  the  pending  appeal  to  the  electors. 
He  therefore  selected  this  occasion  as  auspicious  to 
open  negotiations  for  an  arrangement  about  the  much 
coveted  Pacific  Railway  charter,  with  the  avowed 
object  of  carrying  out  the  terms  of  the  agreement 
by  which  British  Columbia  had  entered  the  Con- 
federation— the  construction  of  a  railway  across  the 


66  LORD   STRATHCONA 

continent  within  ten  years.  Sir  Hugh  Allan  promised 
Sir  John  Macdonald  a  subscription  of  ?ioo,ooo 
(£20,000)  to  the  party  funds,  if  the  Government  would 
give  him  and  his  friends  the  charter  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  line.  The  amount  that  was  held 
out  as  a  bait  to  the  First  Minister  was  looked  upon 
as  a  large  sum  in  those  days.  Sir  Hugh  pressed  for 
the  introduction  of  the  necessary  legislation  during 
the  last  session  of  Parliament,  before  the  elections. 
Sir  John  at  first  considered  this  impossible,  as  it 
would  give  the  Liberals  another  subject  upon  which 
to  appeal  to  the  country  against  him.  He  wanted 
Sir  Hugh  to  accept  his  assurance  that,  if  successful 
at  the  elections,  he  would  enter  into  a  satisfactory 
arrangement  then,  introducing  the  necessary  legisla- 
tion at  the  first  session  of  the  new  Parliament.  Sir 
Hugh  practically  replied,  "  It  is  now,  or  nothing." 
Both  the  negotiating  parties  were  Scotch,  possessing 
a  full  measure  of  the  acumen  of  the  race.  Sir  John 
was  a  politician,  and  certainly  in  a  matter  of  this  kind 
a  pledge  was  as  good  as  a  bond,  providing  the  elections 
should  be  satisfactory.  Sir  Hugh  was  a  business  man 
accustomed  to  have  every  contract  in  black  and  white — 
he  did  not  care  to  part  with  his  money  without  holding 
security  in  the  usual  form. 

After  much  hesitation  Sir  John  Macdonald  agreed 
to  the  details  of  a  definite  arrangement  by  legislation 
— necessarily  including  (1)  the  incorporation  of  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company,  and  (2)  the  ap- 
proval of  Parliament  to  a  contract  with  the  Company 


OUTCOME   OF  SELLING  A  CHARTER      67 

for  the  construction  and   maintenance  of    the  line. 
These  Bills  were  accordingly  carried  through  Parliament 
in  1872,  immediately  prior  to  the  general  elections, 
after  a  strenuous  fight  against  the  proposals  by  the 
Opposition.    Donald  A.  Smith  was  one  of  the  charter 
members  of  the  Company.     He  was  asked  to  join  the 
Board  of  Directors  because  it  was  a  convenience  to  Sir 
Hugh  Allan,  and  probably  also  to  insure  his  support  to 
the  measure  in  the    House.      In  how  far  Sir  Hugh 
took  the  charter  members  of  the  Company  into  his 
confidence  about  the  promised   subscription   to   the 
election  funds  remains  a  mystery.      Every  precaution 
was  taken  by  Sir  John  Macdonald  and  Sir  George 
Cartier  on  the  one  hand,  and  Sir  Hugh  on  the  other, 
to  prevent  their  mutual  confidences  becoming  known. 
Nothing  probably  would   ever  have   been  revealed, 
had  not  the  Opposition  developed  unexpected  strength 
in  the  campaign,  naturally  increasing  the  anxiety  about 
the  possible  result,  so  that  Sir  John  Macdonald  and 
Sir  George  Cartier,  with  a  complete  absence  of  their 
usual   shrewdness,  both   by  letters    and   public  tele- 
grams, made  several  personal  appeals  to  Sir  Hugh  for 
further  assistance.     One  of  Sir  John's  telegrams  said  : 
"  Send  another  ten  thousand.     It  is  the  last  time  of 
asking."     The  amounts  paid  by  Sir  Hugh  totalled 
$350,000  (£70,000).     Sir  John  carried  the  country, 
but  the  denouement  that  followed  prove  that  in  an 
endeavour  to  secure  an  extension  of  power,  this  great 
Canadian  statesman  had  paid  an  awful  price,  leaving 
a  stain  on  his  memory  which  time  can  never  efface. 


VI 

Reverting  to  party  lines — George  Brown's  break  with  the  coalition 
— Parliament  of  talents — Interest  in  Parliament — The  early  days 
in  Ottawa — Discovery  of  the  Pacific  scandal — Investigation  by 
Parliament. 

The  session  of  Parliament  following  the  general  elec- 
tions of  1872  was  historic  in  many  ways.     Party  lines, 
which  had  been  largely  obliterated  by  the  action  of  the 
leaders  on  both  sides  in  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  in 
order  to  bring  about  Confederation,  were  again  clearly 
defined.     In  the  preceding  session  a  number  of  mem- 
bers, who,  in  pre-Confederation  days,  had  been  associ- 
ated with  the  Liberal  party,  supported  the  Government 
of  Sir  John  Macdonald.    This  temporary  truce  had  thus 
proved  more  advantageous  to  the  leader  of  the  Govern- 
ment than  to  the  Hon.  George  Brown,  the  leader  of 
the  Liberal  party  before  Confederation.     Mr.  Brown 
was  the  first  Canadian  statesmen  to  propose  or  ad- 
vocate  a  Confederation   or   union  of   the   scattered 
provinces.     He  is  more   entitled  to  be  called  "  The 
Father  of  Confederation "   than  any  of  those  who 
afterwards     took    part    in    the    conferences    on    this 
question.     "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that  shall  he 
also  reap  "  has  not  been  exemplified  in  the  popular 

estimation    of    George    Brown    on    the    question    of 

68 


PARTY   LINES   DEFINED  69 

Confederation,  owing  to  a  careless  study  of  the 
complicated  events  of  that  period.  To  others  has 
been  largely  given  the  credit  that  really  belongs  to 
him.  After  the  Act  of  Union  became  law  George 
Brown  considered  that  he  was  no  longer  called  upon 
to  co-operate  with  Sir  John  Macdonald  in  the  admin- 
istration of  the  affairs  of  the  country.  Their  private 
lives,  personal  habits  and  views  of  government  were 
too  different  to  long  permit  of  intimate  association. 
Brown  resumed  his  old  position  as  a  political  opponent 
of  Sir  John  Macdonald's  Government,  but  several  of 
his  influential  supporters  accepted  portfolios  in  the 
new  coalition  Cabinet.  Brown  was  defeated  in  the 
elections  of  1867  and  Alexander  Mackenzie  became 
leader  of  the  Liberal  party.  When  the  Parliament 
of  1872  met,  the  Liberals  who  joined  forces  with  Sir 
John  in  1867,  and  who  had  not  in  the  meantime  been 
shelved  by  appointments  to  lieut.-governorships  or  to 
the  bench,  were  as  staunch  supporters  of  the  Prime 
Minister  as  his  old  and  trusted  followers. 

Nevertheless,  the  political  atmosphere  had  cleared. 
Party  lines  were  again  distinct.  The  necessity  of 
party  government  in  the  Colonies  is  as  clearly  estab- 
lished as  in  the  mother-country.  There  probably 
will  be  occasions  in  the  history  of  government  in 
every  democratic  country  when  political  coalitions 
become  a  national  necessity,  but  if  such  combinations 
are  forced  upon  Parliament  to  too  great  an  extent 
the  tendency  is  more  likely  to  be  by  concessions  to  a 
minority  in  the  ruling  body  than   government    by 


70  LORD   STRATHCONA 

majority — administration  by  intrigue  and  cabal  rather 
than  by  clear-cut  issues  in  the  open.  This  was  the 
view  taken  by  George  Brown  after  the  crisis  that  led 
to  Confederation  had  past.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  in  the  Canadian  Parliament  of  1872 
the  Independents  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers 
of  one  hand.  The  most  notable  of  these  were  Richard 
J.  Cartwright,  the  promising  son  of  an  unbending 
Tory,  who  was  steadily  drifting  towards  the  Liberal 
party,  and  Donald  A.  Smith,  who  claimed  to  be  an 
Independent,  but  whose  sympathies  were  with  the 
Government  of  the  day.  There  were  also  one  or  two 
from  the  maritime  provinces,  where  party  lines  in 
Dominion  politics  were  not  so  clearly  defined  as  in 
Upper  and  Lower  Canada. 

Upon  the  Treasury  Benches  there  was  a  galaxy  of 
stars — the  greatest  aggregation  of  political  talent  that 
any  Canadian  Parliament  has  ever  seen,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Cabinet  with  which  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
met  Parliament  a  quarter  of  a  century  later.  The  leader 
of  the  Opposition  was  supported  by  followers  of  equal 
strength.  Master  minds  from  all  the  provinces  were 
gathered  at  Ottawa,  and  the  two  parties  faced  each 
other  in  grim  earnest.  In  the  previous  Parliament 
the  Opposition  had  fought  a  good  fight,  though  handi- 
capped by  the  fact  that  half  a  dozen  former  leading 
associates  sat  on  the  right  of  the  Speaker. 

This  was  the  scene  that  the  writer,  then  scarcelv 
out  of  his  teens,  surveyed  from  the  public  gallery. 
What  attraction  Parliament  could  have  for  a  lad  I  must 


PERSONAL  INTEREST  IN  POLITICS         71 

allow  some  one  else  to  explain.  And  yet  for  me  it  had 
a  strange  fascination.  Residing  in  Ottawa,  then  a  back- 
woods town,  where  were  neither  theatres  nor  music- 
halls,  and  picture-palaces  had  not  then  been  conceived, 
all  my  spare  evenings  were  spent  in  listening  to  the 
debates.  During  the  sessions  the  galleries  of  the 
Senate  and  Commons  alike  were  always  well  filled  by 
the  general  public.  The  accommodation  was  ample, 
and  admission  not  difficult.  During  the  six  sessions 
which  had  been  held  at  Ottawa  friendly  door-keepers 
had  always  reserved  "  a  special  seat  for  the  lad," 
and,  more  frequently  than  not,  failed  to  ask  for  my 
ticket.  I  seemed  to  have  as  much  right  in  the  gallery 
as  members  to  a  seat  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  There 
was  no  senator  or  member  whose  name  I  did  not  know, 
or  in  whom  I  did  not  take  a  personal  interest. 

In  my  boyhood's  years  the  Hill  upon  which  the 
Parliament  Buildings  now  stand  had  been  the  play- 
ground of  my  school.  I  remember  the  horror  with 
which  we  discovered  hundreds  of  men  at  work  for  the 
first  time  digging  up  the  ground  for  the  foundations. 
I  had  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
when  he  laid  the  corner-stone  in  i860,  and  about 
which,  in  reply  to  His  late  Majesty's  inquiries,  I  had 
the  honour  of  telling  him  forty-five  years  later.  I  had 
watched  with  deep  interest  the  magnificent  pile  grow 
to  completion,  so,  at  last,  when  Parliament  met,  I 
wanted  to  be  the  first  in  the  gallery  and  the  last  to 
leave  it. 

I  had  been  a  witness  to  the  hearty  welcome  by  an 


72  LORD   STRATHCONA 

unanimous  House,  when,  as  the  representative  of  the 
New  West,  Donald  A.  Smith  had  been  introduced  to 
the  Speaker ;  and  again,  now  more  accustomed  to 
his  surroundings — a  familiar  and  striking  figure  wearing 
a  grey  top-hat  only  out  of  his  possession  in  order  to 
conform  to  the  rules  of  the  House.  It  is  no  doubt  a 
wise  provision  of  Providence  that  we  are  not  allowed 
to  look  into  the  future.  If  we  could,  perhaps,  many 
would  not  care  to  venture  on  life's  perilous  way. 
Could  I  have  lifted  the  veil,  as  I  unconsciously  turned 
my  attention  to  Donald  A.  Smith,  I  would  have  read 
a  strange  romance.  He  was  beyond  middle  life,  I 
was  beginning.  He  was  a  millionaire,  I  was  starting 
to  earn  my  own  living.  Within  eight  years  I  was 
drifting  into  a  prominent  part  of  public  life  in  strong 
opposition  to  the  ruling  ambition  of  his  life ;  again, 
five  years  later,  a  candidate  for  the  House  of  Commons 
in  a  constituency  into  which  a  liberal  contribution, 
to  make  sure  of  my  defeat,  was  sent  by  his  syndicate ; 
as  organizer  of  the  Liberal  party  for  many  years 
fighting  political  forces  that  were  strengthened  by 
huge  bulwarks  of  money  from  his  syndicate,  throughout 
the  vast  territory  extending  from  the  foot  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  banks  of  the  Ottawa  river ; 
and  twenty-seven  years  after  this  historic  session  of 
1872  I  would  have  seen  myself  sitting  in  his  library 
in  Grosvenor  Square,  becoming  personally  acquainted 
for  the  first  time.  Both  were  occupying  positions  of 
responsibility  in  the  Canadian  Government  service, 
and  we  calmly  discussed  the  possible  solution  of  a 


KEEPING   HIS   OWN   COUNSEL  73 

problem  that  Cabinets  had  vainly  tried  for  twenty 
years  to  solve,  whereby  the  stream  of  British  and 
Continental  emigration  might  be  diverted  to  the 
western  prairies  of  the  Dominion. 

In  how  far  Donald  A.  Smith  had  any  personal 
knowledge  about  the  secret  agreement  between  Sir 
Hugh  Allan  and  the  Government,  no  conclusive 
evidence  is  available.  He  was  one  of  the  charter 
members  and  also  on  the  Board  of  Directors.  There 
is  little  doubt  but  that  he  found  his  place  on  the 
Board  more  nominal  than  otherwise.  The  original 
negotiations  were  between  Sir  Hugh  and  the  Govern- 
ment, the  Company  was  Sir  Hugh's,  and  he  was 
naturally  the  controlling  factor.  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  Donald  A.  Smith  had  ambitious  designs  beyond 
Sir  Hugh  Allan's  charter.  If  he  had,  he  certainly 
was  keeping  his  own  counsel.  His  journeyings  to 
Fort  Garry  had  given  him  an  insight  into  what 
was  being  done  in  the  way  of  railway  construction 
in  the  western  states.  He  knew  what  could  be  done 
on  the  great  prairies  of  Canada.  No  member  of  the 
Government  of  the  day,  at  any  rate,  had  the  slightest 
suspicion  of  his  want  of  loyalty  to  Sir  Hugh  Allan. 
Donald  A.  Smith  had  been  elected  again  as  a  sup- 
porter of  Sir  John  Macdonald's  Government.  When 
Parliament,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  was 
called  together,  there  was  no  public  indication  other 
than  that  the  session  would  take  the  usual  course. 
But  the  information  had  already  reached  a  limited 
circle  outside  the  friends  of  the  contracting  parties, 


74  LORD  STRATHCONA 

that  an  arrangement  had  been  made  between  Sir 
Hugh  Allan  and  Sir  John  Macdonald,  whereby  the 
head  of  the  Allan  Steamship  Company,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  charter  that  had  been  granted  to  his 
company  for  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway,  had  paid  large  sums  of  money  directly  into 
the  hands  of  Sir  John  Macdonald  during  the  recent 
election  campaign. 

These  payments  were  known  in  certain  banking 
circles,  so  that  the  information  eventually  filtered 
through  to  parties  who  were  strongly  opposed  to 
Sir  Hugh  Allan's  Pacific  Railway  aspirations,  and  who 
were  determined  to  bring  about  the  nullification  of 
the  contract.  To  do  so,  they  were  bent  upon  getting 
the  proof  that  money  had  actually  passed  between  the 
high  contracting  parties,  as  well  as  any  communica- 
tions that  might  have  passed  between  the  Premier 
and  Sir  Hugh  Allan ;  and  any  other  documents  in  the 
possession  of  either  party  that  were  likely  to  furnish 
evidence  in  the  case  should  be  secured  at  all  costs. 

It  was  a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  correspondence, 
if  any,  could  only  be  of  the  most  confidential  char- 
acter, and  would  scarcely  be  elsewhere  than  in  the 
personal  possession  of  the  most  trusted  secretaries. 
The  private  secretary  of  Sir  John  Macdonald  was 
known  to  be  unimpeachable,  so  that  there  was  no 
use  trying  there.  Not  so,  however,  were  the  confi- 
dential secretaries  of  the  head  of  the  great  steamship 
line.  One  of  them  was  discovered  who  was  willing 
to  betray  his  master,  if  the  monetary  consideration 


POLITICAL   EXPLOSION   IMMINENT        75 

was  made  satisfactory.  All  that  was  required  was 
promptly  forthcoming,  and  copies  of  all  the  corre- 
spondence, as  well  as  many  of  the  most  important 
original  letters  and  telegrams  between  members  of 
the  Government  and  Sir  Hugh  were  produced.  A 
cursory  glance  at  these  papers  very  properly  led  to 
the  conclusion  that,  with  the  publication  of  these 
documents,  the  Government  would  be  utterly  doomed 
in  the  House  of  Commons  so  recently  elected,  and 
also  that  the  exposure  would  render  it  impossible  for 
Sir  Hugh  Allan  to  participate  in  any  arrangement 
whatever,  for  the  construction  of  the  transcontinental 
railway.  Meanwhile,  Parliament  was  preparing  to 
meet,  neither  political  party  conscious  in  the  least 
degree  of  the  mine  that  was  being  prepared  for  an 
extraordinary  political  explosion. 

If  the  matter  culminated  as  might  be  expected, 
there  should  be  a  chance  for  others  to  be  in  a  deal 
with  the  Government  for  the  charter.  It  was,  how- 
ever, absolutely  necessary  that  no  suspicion  should 
attach  to  those  who  were  advancing  the  money  which 
was  required  to  secure  the  evidence.  Nothing  is 
better  understood  than  that  to  be  party  to  a  plot  to 
secure  possession  of  private  and  confidential  letters, 
without  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  both  the  sender 
and  the  receiver,  carries  an  everlasting  stigma  upon 
all  concerned.  However,  it  must  be  understood 
that  evidence  of  a  corrupt  arrangement  between  Sir 
John  Macdonald  and  Sir  Hugh  Allan  once  becoming 
public   knowledge,  it  would  be   taken  notice  of   by 


76  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Parliament,  in  view  of  its  public  character.  It  was 
admitted  that  no  agreement  of  such  a  pernicious 
character  could  be  allowed  to  go  unnoticed  by  the 
highest  tribunal  in  the  land.  The  confidential  secre- 
tary of  Sir  Hugh  Allan,  and  those  associated  with  him, 
considered  it  wiser  to  deliver  everything  to  a  leading 
member  of  the  Liberal  party,  Hon.  Mr.  Huntingdon, 
who,  it  was  said,  cheerfully  agreed  to  assume  all 
responsibility  for  having  possession  of  them.  In  this 
way  it  was  hoped  that  the  means  taken  to  secure 
possession  of  the  incriminating  documents  was  not 
likely  ever  to  become  known  to  the  public.  The 
true  source  of  the  treachery  of  Sir  Hugh  Allan's  con- 
fidants remained  a  mystery  for  many  years.  There  is 
only  one  person  living  now  who  can  give  personal 
information  about  the  matter. 

The  publication  of  the  correspondence,  showing 
the  terms  upon  which  the  railway  charter  had  been 
granted,  and  the  confidential  correspondence  acknow- 
ledging that  money  had  been  paid  to  the  leader  of 
the  Tory  party  by  Sir  Hugh  Allan,  created  a  tremend- 
ous sensation  in  the  country.  It  was  the  one  topic  of 
conversation  everywhere.  The  main  facts  could  not 
be  denied.  The  House  of  Commons  referred  the 
matter  to  a  Royal  Commission,1  the  membership  of 
which  was  selected  by  the  House.  Both  sides  were 
represented  on  this  tribunal.  As  the  inquiry  pro- 
ceeded, the  main  point  that  the  First  Minister  had 
agreed  to  give  a  charter  for  the  construction  of  the 

1  Appendix,  2. 


PACIFIC  RAILWAY   SCANDAL  77 

Pacific  Railway  to  Sir  Hugh  Allan  in  consideration  of 
the  payment  of  certain  moneys  to  an  election  fund 
was  clear  beyond  question.  All  the  links  that  were 
required  to  establish  the  case  were  supplied  by  the 
oral  evidence  of  Sir  Hugh  Allan,  who  was  faced  in  the 
witness-box  with  his  own  handwriting. 

The  Government  manifested  a  degree  of  courage 
worthy  of  a  better  cause.  When  the  first  shock  of 
the  exposure  had  subsided,  the  Tory  party  largely 
ranged  itself  in  support  of  its  leader.  He  threw  the 
glamour  of  his  great  personality  over  his  followers, 
inasmuch  as  he  had  long  been  to  them  an  object  of 
pride  and  admiration.  The  action  of  the  Premier 
was  defended  on  the  ground  of  the  advantages  likely 
to  accrue  to  the  country  by  the  early  construction  of 
the  railway,  which  could  be  so  easily  secured  with  the 
head  of  the  Allan  Steamship  Line  as  the  chief  financial 
promoter. 

It  was  very  clear  that  no  money  had  reached  Sir 
John  Macdonald  for  his  personal  use.  All  the  money 
that  he  had  received  from  Sir  Hugh  had  been  expended 
in  order  to  advance  the  political  fortunes  of  the  party, 
and  this  to  the  average  Tory  was  only  one  remove 
from  the  money  having  been  actually  used  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  the  country.  Patriotism  with  them 
had  but  one  meaning — partyism.  To  be  faithful  to 
the  Tory  leader  was  the  highest  type  of  a  patriot. 
In  addition,  it  was  well  known  that  a  cardinal  trait 
of  Sir  John  Macdonald's  character  was  that  he  never 
deserted  a  friend  under  any  circumstances  whatever. 


78  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Thif  characteristic,  on  his  part,  naturally  gave  rise 
to  corresponding  expectations  from  his  friends,  and 
furnished  occasion  for  the  circulation  of  a  bon  mot 
from  him,  "  that  he  had  little  use  for  a  follower  who 
only  supported  him  when  he  was  right,  since  even  his 
opponents  would  vote  with  him  then ;  but  that  he 
reserved  all  his  admiration  for  those  who  would  stand 
by  him  when  he  was  wrong."  If  he  could  weather 
this  storm  every  devoted  follower  knew  that  his 
reward  in  some  substantial  form  would  come  soon. 
If.  on  the  other  hand,  the  party  should  be  wrecked, 
he  might  manage  to  return  again,  when  the  faithful 
would  not  be  forgotten. 


VII 

The  situation  in  Parliament — Partyism  and  patriotism — Deputation 
to  Lord  Dufferin — Donald  A.  Smith's  position — A  political  crisis 
in  sight — Donald  A.  against  his  party — Resignation  of  the 
Government. 

The  political  parties  in  the  House  of  Commons 
were  not  unfairly  divided,  although,  of  course,  the 
Government  had  a  working  majority.  The  Opposition 
was  in  stronger  force  than  in  the  previous  Parliament. 
But  in  those  early  days  of  Confederation,  party  lines 
were  not  so  clearly  defined  as  they  became  in  later 
years.  Had  this  incident  occurred  ten  years  later,  it 
might  scarcely  have  caused  a  ripple  on  the  political 
sea.  It  even  seemed  that  the  Liberals  were  to  make 
no  progress  towards  the  Treasury  Benches  by  this 
exposure.  Apparently  the  supporters  of  the  Govern- 
ment remained  loyal  to  their  chief.  Outside  of 
Parliament,  however,  it  was  confidently  expected  that 
the  Governor-General,  Lord  Dufferin,  would  not 
permit  such  extraordinary  conduct  on  the  part  of  his 
Ministers  to  pass  without  notice.  A  memorial  was 
presented  to  His  Excellency,  signed  by  all  the  Liberals 
in  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Commons,  requesting 
him  to  cause  an  official  inquiry  to  be  made  into  the 
transactions  between  the  Premier  and  Sir  Hugh  Allan, 

79 


80  LORD   STRATHCONA 

as  set  forth  by  the  proceedings  of  a  Royal  Com- 
mission. The  memorial  contained  a  statement  of  the 
salient  points  of  the  evidence.  The  Governor-General 
decided,  before  taking  any  official  part  in  the  contro- 
versy, to  await  the  decision  of  the  House  of  Commons 
on  a  motion  of  want  of  confidence  in  his  Ministers. 

In  the  meantime,  amid  the  most  strenuous  protests 
from  the  Liberals,  before  a  vote  was  reached  on  the 
motion  of  want  of  confidence,  Lord  Dufferin  decided 
to  prorogue  Parliament.     This  was  done  in  order  that 
further  evidence  could  be  taken  by  the  Commission. 
But  the  promise  was  publicly  given  that  Parliament 
would  meet  again  within  a  stated  period.     When  the 
Houses  reassembled  the  guilt  of  the  First  Minister  in 
trafficking  in  the  sale  of  a  charter  to  construct  the 
Pacific   Railway  had   been  proved   beyond   question. 
It  was  equally  clear  that  he  had  received  from  Sir 
Hugh  Allan  a  large  sum  of  money  towards  the  party 
campaign   funds  in  consideration   of   the   agreement. 
There  were  one  or  two  minor  desertions  from  the 
ranks  of  the  Government  supporters,  but  the  majority 
remained  faithful.     It  was  evident  that  nothing  short 
of  an  unexpected  trend  of  events  in  the  Commons, 
or  drastic  action  on  the  part  of  the  Governor-General, 
would  bring  about  the  defeat  of  the  Government. 

But  the  unexpected  was  about  to  happen.  During 
these  months  when  the  country  was  seething  with 
excitement,  there  was  no  suggestion  or  hint  that 
Donald  A.,  as  the  Resident  Governor  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  was  familiarly  called,  was  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  leader,  or  that  he  was  looking  at  the 


ANXIETY  ABOUT  A  VOTE  81 

question  with  any  sinister  object  in  view.     It  was 
only  suggested  long  afterwards  that  he  had  not  shown 
surprise  when  the  fatal  papers  were  produced.     This 
is  not  a  matter  of  astonishment,  because  he  was  a 
member   of   Sir   Hugh   Allan's    Board   of   Directors. 
As  the  debate  on  the  motion  of  want  of  confidence  in 
the  Government  continued  from  day  to  day  his  seat 
was  seldom  vacant.     It  has  been  said  that  the  Premier 
became  anxious  about  Donald  A.  Smith  standing  by 
him  in  the  crisis,  and  that  he  endeavoured  to  get  him 
into  line  by  instructions  through  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  in  London.     And  that  with  this  object  in 
view  he  had  cabled  the  late  Sir  John  Rose,  ex- Finance 
Minister  of   Canada,  to  assist  him  by  enlisting  the 
co-operation  of  the  Directors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.     But  Sir  John  Macdonald  was  too  shrewd 
a  student  of  human  nature  to  attempt  any  form  of 
coercion  with  one  possessing  the  force  of  character 
so  evident  in  Donald  A.  Smith.     Of  course  Sir  John 
Macdonald  was  not  aware  at  this  time  that  Donald 
A.   Smith  had  secured  a  controlling  interest  in  the 
Company,  and  that  the  Board  knew  full  well  whose 
good-will  to  seek.     The  inquiry  occasionally  floated 
through  political  circles :  "  What  is  Donald  A.  going  to 
do  ?  "     Sir  John  had  two  or  three  interviews  with 
him.     What   took   place   at   these   conferences   after- 
wards led  to  bitter  words  between  Donald  A.  and  the 
First  Minister.     Sir  John  said  that  Donald  A.  con- 
sented to  support  the  Government,  but  this  Donald  A. 
denied  in  toto. 
One  member  of  the  House  only  was  in  Donald  A. 

F 


82  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Smith's  confidence,  and  he  was  not  in  close  touch 
with  the  leaders  of  either  party.  Only  two  or  three 
in  the  whole  country  had  the  faintest  conception  of 
the  vital  interest  he  had  in  the  confidential  documents 
that  had  been  produced,  and  which  were  hanging  like 
a  mill-stone  around  the  necks  of  the  doomed  Ministers. 
But  no  one  outside  this  confidential  circle  had  any 
idea  that  Donald  A.  Smith  had  aspirations  of  his 
own,  or  that  he  had  decided  upon  a  course  that,  if 
successful,  would  have  an  important  bearing  on  the 
future  political  history  of  the  Dominion.  It  is  not 
out  of  place  to  suggest  that  at  this  time  the  thought 
of  getting  possession  himself  of  the  charter  for  the 
construction  of  the  Pacific  Railway  was  taking  definite 
shape  in  his  mind.  Here  was  laid  the  permanent 
foundation  of  his  future.  It  was  evident  that  unless 
an  unlooked-for  catastrophe  occurred,  the  Government 
would  win.  The  impending  change,  however,  was 
already  there.  But  the  House  was  serenely  uncon- 
scious of  the  approaching  disaster  to  the  Government 
which  was  so  soon  to  be  revealed. 

The  large  galleries  were  crowded  to  suffocation  on 
that  clear  autumn  night,  of  November  5,  1873.  There 
was  not  even  standing  room  in  the  space  usually 
allotted  to  the  public.  There  was  a  strange  lack 
of  order  or  control.  The  Government  was  willing 
enough,  if  they  were  to  win,  that  all  the  citizens  of 
Ottawa  and  visitors  to  the  capital  should  witness 
their  triumph.  If  they  were  to  lose  it  mattered  little 
to  them  who  saw  it.  On  both  sides  of  the  Speaker's 
Chair  the  uninvited  public  pressed  a  way,  as  also  at 


A  MOMENTOUS   OCCASION  83 

the  four  corner  entrances  of  the  Chamber.  They 
ranged  against  the  walls  behind  the  members'  seats, 
some  even  venturing  to  sit  on  the  arms  of  members' 
chairs.  Neither  members  nor  officials  noted  this  in- 
vasion into  the  sacred  precincts  of  the  Chamber,  or 
if  they  noticed,  cared  to  interfere. 

Apparently  the  last  word  had  been  spoken,  and  the 
clear  voice  of  the   Speaker,   slightly  tremulous,  was 
heard :    "  Are    the    Members    ready   for   the   ques- 
tion ?  "     Almost  before  the  echoes  of  his  voice  died 
away,    Donald    A.    Smith    rose    amid    strained    and 
intense  stillness.     A  figure  sombrely  attractive  at  the 
moment,  but  lacking  the  air  of  professional  dignity 
evident   in  many  by  whom   he  was   surrounded ;    a 
face  upon  which  lights  and  shadows  seemed  to  flit, 
well    covered  with  flowing  sandy  whiskers,  eyebrows 
uncommonly  bushy,  the  head  crowned  with  golden- 
brown  hair,  all  presenting  an  unusually  well-preserved 
appearance  for  one  who  had  passed  his  fiftieth  mile- 
stone,   although    bearing    but    little   resemblance    to 
the   dignified  octogenarian  with  whom   the  present 
generation   became   so   well   acquainted   thirty  years 
later.      His    hearers,   perhaps,  knew  better  than   he 
the  fates  that  were  dependent  upon  his  views.      If 
he  stood  by  the  Government  the  crisis  might  be  post- 
poned.    To  denounce  them  meant  the  crushing  out 
of  the  last  hope  that  Sir  John  Macdonald  might  have 
of  weathering  the  storm.     No  wonder  there  was  not 
a  vacant  chair  in  the  House  so  soon  as  the  word  was 
passed  out  that  Donald  A.  was  on  his  feet.     He  began 
in  a  somewhat  hesitating  and  doubtful  manner.     He 


84  LORD   STRATHCONA 

was  not  then,  or  ever,  an  attractive  platform  speaker, 
but  belonged  to  the  class  that  is  sympathetically 
listened  to.  There  was  always  about  his  public 
speaking  an  earnestness  that  overshadowed  mere 
rhetoric.  As  he  proceeded  every  eye  in  the  House 
was  turned  towards  him,  and  every  ear  strained. 
He  expressed  his  regret  that  it  had  been  found  neces- 
sary to  establish  a  case  against  the  Government  by 
the  aid  of  the  confidential  documents  which  had 
undoubtedly  been  purloined  from  the  possession  of 
Sir  Hugh  Allan.  He  thought  that  the  sanctity  of 
private  correspondence  should  never  have  been 
violated.  He  believed  that  nothing  could  justify  a 
third  party  in  receiving  and  retaining  private  and 
confidential  correspondence,  without  the  written 
consent  of  the  sender  and  receiver. 

The  Tories  waited  for  no  more,  radiant  smiles 
illumined  their  faces,  they  shook  hands  with  one 
another,  and  the  Opposition  was  correspondingly 
silent.  The  Government  benches  broke  into  loud 
and  enthusiastic  applause.  The  Tory  Whip  excitedly 
whispered  to  those  behind  him  to  repair  to  the 
restaurant  of  the  House.  He  was  quickly  followed 
by  a  score  or  more  of  Members,  including  three 
members  of  the  Government,  hurling  defiant  sneers 
at  the  front  Opposition  Benches  as  they  passed.  At 
the  restaurant  they  filled  their  glasses  "  To  the  health 
of  Donald  A."  For  a  few  minutes  the  faint  echoes 
of  an  enthusiastic  crowd  engaged  in  opening  champagne 
bottles,  mingled  with  strains  of  "  Rule,  Britannia ! " 
and  "  God  Save  the  Queen  "  reached  the  Chamber. 


WEIGHED  IN  THE  BALANCE  85 

The  Canadian  House  of  Commons  has  a  weakness 
for  public  exhibitions  of  excessive  loyalty  in  times  of 
political  excitement.  A  party  vote  is  taken  to  signify 
that  "  Britons  never  shall  be  slaves,"  and  a  victory 
on  an  important  question  of  public  policy  finds  ex- 
pression in  the  National  Anthem.  The  connection 
between  a  prayer  that  God  may  save  the  King  and  the 
question  at  issue  between  the  political  parties  is  not 
always  very  clear  to  an  impartial  observer.  But  for 
the  moment  a  strain  of  anxiety  may  be  removed,  so 
some  purpose  is  served  and  the  way  made  smoother 
by  a  timely  exuberance  of  this  nature.  Like  charity, 
these  outbursts  of  loyalty  offer  a  cloak  for  many 
offences.  While  Tories  found  interest  in  these  pro- 
ceedings in  the  restaurant,  Donald  A.  Smith  continued 
his  speech.  His  tone  suddenly  changed.  It  ceased 
to  be  mildly  condemnatory  of  the  means  by  which  the 
present  situation  had  become  acute.  There  was  an 
indication  of  harshness,  and  then  he  reached  a  phrase 
beginning  with  "  But."  It  was  evident  that  he  was 
preparing  to  convince  himself.  The  matter  that 
followed  set  the  Liberals  cheering.  Suddenly  the 
noise  from  the  "  loyalists "  outside  ceased.  A 
messenger  had  reached  the  restaurant  with  the 
alarming  intelligence:  "Donald  A.  has  gone  over  to 
the  Grits,"  a  favourite  term  of  derision  then  applied 
to  the  Liberals.  There  was  a  hurried  return  to  the 
Chamber,  many  glasses  of  champagne  being  left  un- 
tasted.  The  dismay  of  the  returning  party,  which 
had  left  so  joyously  a  few  minutes  previously,  covered 
them  as  with  a  garment. 


86  LORD   STRATHCONA 

With  the  manner  of  one  thoroughly  in  earnest,  but 
whose  special  gift  was  not  oratory,  Donald  A.  Smith 
proceeded  to  moralize  on  the  heinous  offence  of 
bartering  a  public  charter  for  political  profit.  The 
Canadian  Parliament  should  be  kept  as  pure  and  clean 
as  the  Imperial  Parliament.  Private  interests  should 
never  be  allowed  a  place  in  the  legislation  of  the 
Dominion.  With  much  more  of  like  import  he  was 
repeating  exactly  what  the  giants  of  the  Liberal 
party,  MacKenzie,  Blake,  Cartwright,  Dorion,  Holton, 
Huntingdon,  Jones  and  a  host  of  others,  had  been 
saying  for  days.  With  his  strong  native  accent,  his 
earnestness  and  sincerity,  every  word  fell  like  a  sledge 
hammer  on  the  hopes  of  the  administration. 

He  was  followed  by  an  ardent  Government  sup- 
porter, in  a  vain  hope  that  the  tide  might  be  stemmed, 
but  there  was  a  feeling  in  the  air  that  all  talk  now 
was  useless.  When  the  Premier  moved  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  House  in  the  early  hours  of  the  morning, 
no  vote  having  been  taken,  it  was  well  known  that 
before  sunset  of  another  day,  the  resignation  of  the 
First  Ministry  under  Confederation  would  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  Governor-General. 

The  unbridled  imagination  of  contributors  to 
British  periodicals  picturing  a  wild  tumult  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  with  Sir  John  Macdonald  crossing 
the  floor  of  the  House  and  striking  Donald  A.  Smith, 
is  without  the  slightest  foundation.  The  scene  in 
the  late  hours  of  that  historical  day  was  worthy  of  the 
highest  traditions  of  the  British  Parliament.  As  the 
Speaker   repeated   the  usual   formula,   "This   House 


A   POLITICAL   CATASTROPHE  87 

stands  adjourned  until  to-morrow  at  three  o'clock," 
there   was    an    unusual    tremor    in    his   voice.     The 
Prime  Minister  rose  quietly  and  retired  by  the  exit  be- 
hind the  Speaker's  Chair.     The  writer  stood  beside  the 
Speaker's  Chair,  and  is  among  the  few  now  living  who 
were  present  on  that  memorable  occasion.     Although 
Sir  John's  face  was  flushed  with  the  realization  that 
the  hour  of   his  defeat  had  come  he  gave  no  evidence 
of  his  humiliation.     In  all  his  career  he  never  acted 
more  nobly  than  when,  with  apparent  calmness,  he 
accepted  the  unexpected  verdict,  not  even  challenging 
a  division  of  the  House.     The  rhetorical  thunders  of 
a  week  had  suddenly  given  place  to  a  great  calm.     A 
pall  of  silence  hung  over  the  Chamber.     The  leaders 
of  the  Opposition  sat  quietly  at  their  desks.     Here 
and  there  little  knots  of  Members  conversed  in  under- 
tones, the  larger  number  gathering  around  the  desk 
occupied  by  Donald  A.  Smith  and  David  Glass,  the 
two  Government  supporters  who  had  "  bolted."    The 
terse  demand  of  the  former  for  an  incorruptible  Parlia- 
ment, and  his  denunciation  of  a  corrupt  Ministry,  had 
precipitated  the  political  catastrophe.     History  had 
been  made  since  the  Members  gathered  together  in 
that  evening  session.     An  almost  invincible  political 
leader  was  going  out  of  office  under  a  terrible  cloud. 
The  importance  of  the  hour  made  it  full  of  solemnity. 
That  there  were  pent-up  feelings  of  exultation  on  one 
side,   and  seething  resentment   on  the  other,   there 
could  be  no  question.     But  the  statesmen  of  that  day 
were  warriors,  not  hoodlums. 

Both  sides  withdrew  from  the  House  for  the  night 


88  LORD   STRATHCONA 

amid*  a  more  bitter  feeling  than  Canadian  politics  had 
ever  known,  and  yet  with  a  singular  suppression  of 
outward  excitement.  Donald  A.  Smith's  speech  had 
undoubtedly  hastened  the  downfall  of  the  pride  of  the 
Tory  party — for  so  was  Sir  John  Macdonald  regarded. 
The  fall  carried  with  it  a  cloud  upon  the  reputation 
of  the  great  chief,  which,  though  Canadian  Toryism  of 
to-day  would  gladly  forget,  time  cannot  altogether 
remove.  The  Tories  of  'seventy-three,  however, 
would  have  had  abundant  cause  for  consolation  had 
they  foreseen  that  this  was  not  the  only  Government 
that  Donald  A.  Smith  would  succeed  in  wrecking. 
His  recent  political  associates  were  bitterly  accusing 
him  of  want  of  loyalty  to  his  chief  in  the  hour  of  his 
greatest  need.  They  could  not  understand  that  any 
justification  was  possible  for  withdrawing  confidence 
in  a  political  leader.  To  do  so  was  in  their  opinion 
the  basest  treachery.  According  to  the  political 
ethics  of  the  Canadian  Parliament,  when  a  leader  is 
wrong  is  the  time  that  party  disloyalty  is  least  per- 
missible. No  loophole  is  left  for  the  exercise  of 
either  conscience  or  principles.  But  the  rank  and 
file  of  the  Tory  party  might  have  been  less  harsh  in 
their  judgment  of  Donald  A.  Smith  at  this  particular 
time  had  they  known  that  his  new  political  associates 
would  later  have  even  more  cause  for  dissatisfaction 
with  his  transient  support.  The  subject  of  their 
scorn,  however,  went  his  way  silently,  as  he  had  long 
since  learned  to  do.  He  was  carving  out  a  path  for 
himself. 


VIII 

New  Government  in  power — Donald  A.'s  railway  purposes — Guarding 
the  nation's  heritage — Alexander  Mackenzie — Lord  Dufferin's 
speech — Tory  hatred  of  Donald  A. — Intriguing  for  a  charter — 
Meeting  with  a  patriot. 

A  new  Government  came  into  power,  and  another 
general  election  was  held.  Donald  A.  Smith  came 
back  to  the  House  of  Commons  as  one  of  the  most 
influential  supporters  of  Alexander  Mackenzie's 
administration.  During  the  campaign  in  Selkirk 
Donald  A.  had  quite  a  new  experience,  extraordinary 
also  in  view  of  the  fact  that  only  a  few  years  previously 
he  was  the  autocratic  ruler  of  that  part  of  the  world. 
Settlers  from  the  east  had  poured  into  Winnipeg  and 
Selkirk  since  his  election  two  years  previously.  Among 
them  were  many  warm  admirers  of  the  deposed  chief- 
tain, Sir  John  Macdonald.  They  bitterly  resented 
Donald  A.'s  desertion  of  their  idol.  At  his  first 
public  meeting  they  attended  in  force,  abundantly 
supplied  with  eggs  of  an  uncertain  age.  By  the  time 
they  got  through  with  their  work,  none  of  the  occu- 
pants of  the  platform  were  recognizable.  These  forces 
were  led  by  a  gallant  colonel  now  residing  at  East- 
bourne. But  more  extraordinary  than  all  was  the 
fact  that  Donald  A.  had  as  associate  member  for  the 

89 


90  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Weft  the  ex-rebel  Louis  Riel,  who  had  been  elected 
by  his  compatriots.  Louis  Riel  came  to  Ottawa, 
quietly  entered  the  House,  took  the  oath,  signed  the 
Roll  of  the  House  of  Commons  and  disappeared  before 
he  was  generally  recognized.  A  warrant  was  issued 
for  his  arrest.  He  was  assisted  by  friends  to  escape  to 
the  United  States.  Had  he  been  granted  an  amnesty 
as  his  friends  claimed  he  was  promised,  and  been 
allowed  to  take  his  seat,  the  odds  are  that  the  horrors 
of  the  second  North-west  Rebellion  would  never 
have  occurred,  and  a  great  deal  of  racial  bitterness  in 
future  Canadian  public  life  would  have  been  avoided. 

Alexander  Mackenzie,  the  newly  elected  First 
Minister,  as  his  name  indicates,  was  Scotch.  Little 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  elapsed  since 
he,  as  a  young  immigrant,  worked  at  his  trade  as  a 
stonemason  on  the  fortifications  then  being  erected 
at  the  head  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River.  Taking  every 
advantage  of  the  rapid  changes  incident  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country,  he  was  quickly  able  to  improve 
his  circumstances  and  associations.  Natural  ability, 
force  of  character  and  strict  integrity  soon  pushed  him 
into  prominence  in  the  young  country,  resulting  in 
his  election  to  the  old  Parliament  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Canada  a  few  years  before  Confederation  became  an 
accomplished  fact.  At  the  first  session  after  the 
union  of  the  provinces  he  was  elected  leader  of  the 
Liberal  party.  This  was  the  man  whom  the  charter- 
hunters  hoped  to  influence. 

The  Pacific  Railway  Scheme  was  in  the  forefront 


THE  PRIME  MINISTER'S  ANXIETY        91 

when  Alexander  Mackenzie  took  office.  It  dominated 
the  public  life  of  the  day.  The  recent  scandal  accentu- 
ated the  situation.  Because  of  the  exposure  growing 
out  of  Sir  Hugh  Allan's  efforts  to  get  possession  of  the 
charter  for  the  construction  of  the  railway,  the  Prime 
Minister  had  only  too  good  reason  to  believe  that 
there  were  others  just  as  anxious  as  Sir  Hugh  to  have 
an  interest  in  it.  He,  therefore,  took  charge  of  the 
Department  of  Public  Works  himself,  as  a  notice  to 
wire-pullers  that  their  efforts  to  direct  the  policy  of 
the  department  would  be  useless.  British  Columbia 
had  entered  Confederation  under  an  arrangement 
that  the  railway  should  be  completed  within  ten 
years.  The  province  was  clamouring  for  some  sign 
of  the  promise  being  carried  out,  but  the  outlook  was 
far  from  encouraging.  The  new  Government  was 
evidently  determined  not  to  be  forced  into  the 
declaration  of  a  policy  without  careful  consideration. 
For  a  while  the  view  was  expressed  in  influential  circles 
outside  that  there  was  no  way  out  but  for  the  work  to 
be  handed  over  to  a  company.  Speeches  of  Ministers 
failed  to  give  a  definite  indication  of  the  policy  likely 
to  be  adopted,  except  that  an  exhaustive  survey  of 
the  routes  would  be  vigorously  prosecuted.  The 
country,  in  fact,  impatiently  waited  an  announcement 
of  the  Government  policy. 

Finally  the  First  Minister  intimated  the  date  when 
the  intentions  of  the  Cabinet  would  be  made  public. 
It  was  to  be  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  statement 
about  the  progress  of  the  surveys.     The  importance  of 


92  LORD   STRATHCONA 

the  "hour  was  recognized  by  a  full  attendance  of 
Members  and  the  crowded  public  galleries.  The 
Prime  Minister  was  very  practical,  and  with  great 
earnestness  he  declared  that  the  policy  of  his  Govern- 
ment was  to  construct  and  maintain  the  railway  as  a 
Government  enterprise,  and  to  proceed  with  the 
completion  of  the  work  as  quickly  as  the  resources  of 
the  country  would  allow.  In  a  moment  the  Members 
grasped  the  full  meaning  of  the  announcement,  and 
loud  and  hearty  applause  rose  from  both  sides  of  the 
House.  The  country  received  the  declaration  of  the 
Government  policy  with  enthusiasm.  The  national 
pride  was  aroused  with  the  definite  prospect  of  the  great 
national  undertaking.  British  Columbia,  meanwhile, 
thought  that  the  term  "  as  quickly  as  the  resources  of  the 
country  would  allow"  indicated  delay,  and  appealed 
to  the  Colonial  Office  to  force  the  Government  to 
carry  out  the  exacting  terms  of  the  arrangement  by 
which  it  entered  the  Confederation.  The  province 
talked  about  seceding. 

It  was  decided  that  the  Governor-General,  Lord 
Dufferin,  should  visit  British  Columbia  in  a  diplo- 
matic capacity  in  order  to  pacify  that  distant  Province. 
He  found  the  public  men  there  very  demonstrative  in 
their  determination  to  have  the  full  pound  of  flesh. 
"  The  terms  and  nothing  but  the  terms  "  was  the 
cry  on  all  sides.  For  the  moment  he  forgot  his 
position  as  the  constitutional  head  of  the  country, 
and  was  stampeded  into  views  inconsistent  with  the 
policy   of   the   Government.     The   province  wanted 


AN  UNPREPARED   SPEECH  93 

the  railway  at  once,  whether  the  finances  of  the  country 
would  stand  the  strain  or  not.  Upon  his  return  to 
Ottawa  Lord  Dufferin  was  met  at  the  railway  station 
and  presented  with  an  address  of  welcome  by  the 
mayor  and  council.  In  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment 
he  made  a  speech  which  was  practically  a  reflection 
on  the  Government  policy,  and  this,  also,  in  the 
presence  of  members  of  the  Cabinet  who  had  come 
to  bid  him  welcome  after  his  long  journey.  The 
consternation  of  the  moment  overshadowed  every- 
thing else,  and  the  opponents  of  the  Government 
were  jubilant.  "  The  Cabinet  repudiated  by  the 
Governor-General "  went  through  Ottawa  like  a 
flash  of  lightning.  Lord  Duflerin  looked  as  if  he 
would  like  to  bite  his  tongue  off  as  he  departed  for 
Rideau  Hall. 

The  only  verbatim  report  of  Lord  Dufferin's  speech 
was  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  George  Holland,  of  the  Daily 
Citizen,  the  ablest  shorthand  reporter  in  Ottawa. 
In  the  course  of  an  hour  or  so,  after  Mr.  Holland  had 
transcribed  his  notes,  it  was  represented  to  him  that 
it  might  be  regarded  as  discourteous  by  the  Governor- 
General  if  he  was  not  shown  a  copy  of  the  speech 
before  publication.  Mr.  Holland  accordingly  went 
to  Government  House,  had  an  audience  with  His 
Excellency,  and  gave  him  a  copy  of  the  speech.  In 
the  course  of  conversation  Lord  Dufferin  asked  Mr. 
Holland  what  system  of  shorthand  he  used,  and  if 
he  had  his  notes  in  his  pocket,  as  he  (Lord  Dufferin) 
could  read  shorthand  fairly  well.      Mr.  Holland  had 


94  LORD   STRATHCONA 

good  reason  to  be  proud  of  his  stenographic  char- 
acters, so  frankly  handed  his  notes  for  Lord  Dufferin's 
examination.  After  complimenting  him  on  the  clear- 
ness of  his  style,  which  His  Excellency  said  he  could 
almost  read,  Lord  DurTerin  calmly  pocketed  both 
transcript  and  note-book,  and  gravely  told  the  obliging 
journalist  that  the  matter  was  too  important  to  be 
hastily  settled,  but  he  invited  the  speechless  reporter 
to  lunch  on  the  following  day,  when  between  them 
they  would  put  the  speech  in  order  for  publication. 
The  journalist  pleaded  for  his  note-book,  he  was 
willing  to  wait  all  night  for  His  Excellency's  con- 
venience. But  his  lordship  was  obdurate,  he  said 
he  was  not  accustomed  to  exert  himself  so  soon  after 
a  long  journey.  The  speech  was  never  published. 
The  Governor-General  and  Mr.  Holland  met  the 
next  day  at  lunch  and  fixed  up  a  report  for  publica- 
tion, and  all  summaries  of  an  objectionable  character 
were  unhesitatingly  repudiated.  Lord  Dufferin  had 
scored,  and  ever  afterwards  entertained  the  most 
friendly  feelings  for  the  journalist  whom  he  had 
cheated  out  of  his  copy. 

The  "  incident  "  of  the  Governor-General's  speech, 
if  not  forgotten,  at  least  ceased  to  engage  attention, 
and  the  policy  of  the  Government  remained  un- 
changed. If  the  financial  resources  of  the  country 
would  justify  the  immediate  construction  of  the 
railway,  it  would  be  done ;  but,  at  any  rate,  the  work 
would  not  be  proceeded  with  more  expeditiously  until 
the   completion   of   the   surveys.     British   Columbia, 


THE  DREAM  TAKING   SHAPE  95 

through  its  representatives  at  Ottawa,  raged.  The 
Government  was  conciliatory  but  firm.  The  dis- 
turbed state  of  the  political  atmosphere  on  the  question, 
however,  furnished  hope  for  possible  changes  in  the 
Government  policy.  Donald  A.  Smith  began  to 
follow  out  well-laid  plans  to  direct  a  change  in  the 
decision  of  the  First  Minister,  and  bring  to  fruition 
the  dream  of  his  heart.  Now  he  was  not  alone.  The 
more  influential  of  his  personal  and  financial  associates 
were  taken  into  his  confidence.  It  was  not  revealed 
until  long  after  that  these  associates  had  firmly  deter- 
mined to  support  any  government  that  would  comply 
with  their  wishes  on  the  question  of  a  charter  for  the 
construction  of  the  Pacific  Railway ;  and,  also,  that 
they  would  do  their  utmost  to  wreck  every  government 
refusing  to  give  them  all  they  wanted. 

Donald  A.  Smith  was  recognized,  as  he  publicly 
declared  himself,  as  being  in  cordial  sympathy  with 
the  Government.  In  many  questions  of  public 
policy  he  was  taken  into  the  confidence  of  members  of 
the  Cabinet.  At  that  time  none  of  the  Liberals 
questioned  his  single-mindedness  in  deserting  his  late 
political  leader.  How  could  that  be  questioned  when 
he  condemned  the  action  of  his  own  associates  on  the 
Board  of  Directors  of  Sir  Hugh's  company  ?  But  the 
Tories,  whether  they  believed  it  or  not,  did  not  give 
him  so  much  credit  for  purity  of  motive.  His  former 
political  allies  openly  charged  him  with  sinister 
objects.  In  the  House,  both  politically  and  socially, 
he  had  everything  in  common  with  the  administration. 


96  LORD   STRATHCONA 

In  point  of  fact,  there  was  no  other  place  for  him. 
The  Tories  were  more  bitter  against  him  for  their 
humiliating  downfall  than  toward  the  actual  purloiner 
of  Sir  Hugh  Allan's  letters.  The  threatenings  that  Saul 
breathed  out  against  the  disciples  at  Jerusalem  were 
mild  in  comparison  to  the  revengeful  spirit  with  which 
the  Tories  were  animated.  Nothing  but  unrelenting 
vengeance  from  them  was  to  be  his  portion.  These 
mutterings  were  heard  from  the  chief  down  to  the 
least  important  in  the  ranks  of  the  party.  Such 
personal  bitterness  had  never  been  shown  in  Canadian 
politics,  nor  has  it  ever  been  so  signally  expressed 
since.  Tories  embraced  every  opportunity  of  publicly 
deriding  him  about  his  speech  on  the  sanctity  of  con- 
fidential correspondence.  When  he  rose  to  address 
the  Speaker  it  was  a  signal  for  a  general  exodus  from 
the  Tory  side  of  the  House.  Nothing  was  left  undone 
to  express  their  personal  contempt.  And,  at  the  same 
time,  they  were  circulating  rumours  of  a  most  offensive 
character  about  his  connection  with  the  conspiracy  to 
get  possession  of  Sir  Hugh  Allan's  letters.  The 
apparent  indifference  which  he  exhibited  to  all  that 
his  former  political  allies  said  or  did  was  more  than 
interesting.  He  had  too  many  more  important 
matters  in  hand  to  permit  a  waste  of  time  or  thought 
over  threatened  Tory  vengeance.  Donald  A.  Smith 
believed  that  sufficient  unto  the  day  was  the  evil 
thereof.  Like  the  well-known  quadruped  of  nursery 
fame,  "  Brer  Rabbit,  he  lay  low." 

Looking  back  upon  the  events  of  that  time  one 


UNDETERRED   BY   CIRCUMSTANCES        97 

cannot  but  be  impressed  with  the  caution  and  shrewd- 
ness with  which  Donald  A.  Smith  now  entered  upon  a 
carefully  prepared  campaign  with  the  party  in  power. 
The  Government  was  strong  both  in  the  House  and 
the  country.  Everywhere  the  demand  was  clear  that 
the  country  should  construct  and  own  the  transcon- 
tinental railway.  It  was  regarded  as  impolitic  and  un- 
wise from  every  standpoint  that  a  corporation  should 
possess  that  franchise.  It  would  have  been  a  brave 
act  on  the  part  of  any  man  to  have  given  utterance  to 
any  other  view.  Yet,  with  all  these  forces  arrayed 
against  him,  Donald  A.  Smith  pursued  the  even  tenor 
of  his  way,  with  but  one  thought  in  his  mind.  His 
natural  cleverness  had  not  been  blunted  by  the  life 
he  had  lived  for  thirty  years.  The  accepted  axiom, 
that  as  "  iron  sharpeneth  iron  so  a  man  sharpeneth 
the  countenance  of  his  friend,"  was  abundantly  ex- 
emplified with  him.  If  courageously  pursuing  an 
object,  regardless  of  all  obstacles,  could  bring  success, 
he  was  bound  to  succeed  in  some  form  or  another. 
In  accepting  confidences  and  giving  none,  while 
appearing  to  be  most  unreserved  in  his  manner,  he 
had  no  peer  in  British  North  America.  And  he  was 
playing  for  tremendous  stakes. 

Notwithstanding  the  First  Minister's  declaration  of 
policy,  Donald  A.  Smith  lost  no  time  in  presenting  to 
Alexander  Mackenzie  his  views  about  the  advisability 
of  the  railway  being  constructed  by  a  company.  But 
the  fine  old  Scotchman  who  then  directed  the  policy 
of  the  administration  soon  disposed  of    the  specious 


98  LORD   STRATHCONA 

arguments  that  were  presented  to  him.  "  I  will 
leave  the  Pacific  Railway  as  a  heritage  to  my  adopted 
country,"  was  the  First  Minister's  final  word,  uttered 
with  that  rich  Gaelic  accent  that  he  never  lost.  In 
the  depths  of  Donald  A.'s  heart  he  must  have  wished  for 
strength  to  throw  personal  and  selfish  ends  to  the 
winds  that  he,  also,  might  join  the  magnificent  patriot 
whose  native  honesty  no  personal  or  political  interests 
could  ever  destroy.  It  was  a  character  he  was  bound 
to  admire,  though  reluctant  to  follow.  Later  in  life 
Alexander  Mackenzie  stigmatized  the  proposal  to 
hand  over  the  great  enterprise  to  a  company  as  the 
basest  treachery  to  Canada,  and  declared  that  none 
but  traitors  could  be  guilty  of  it. 

The  Premier  having  proved  obdurate,  it  was 
evidently  not  considered  wise  to  press  the  matter 
just  then.  For  this  reason  the  tactics  of  the  charter- 
hunters  changed.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to 
bring  the  Liberal  Members  to  see  the  question  in  the 
desired  light.  Donald  A.  Smith's  residence,  "  The 
Cottage,"  became  the  scene  wherein  was  played  a 
scarcely-perceptible  intrigue.  It  was  carried  out  so 
carefully  that  only  the  faintest  suspicion  of  wire- 
pulling was  ever  created,  and  this  was  almost  immedi- 
ately dispelled.  Two  brothers  in  the  House  at  that 
time,  Lewis  and  Walter  Ross,  were  almost  the  only 
ones  who  looked  upon  Donald  A.'s  actions  with 
vague  and  undefined  fears.  The  former  told  the 
writer  in  later  years  that  he  could  not  understand  how 
they  were  all  so  wanting  in  judgment  at  that  time, 


WORKING   THE   MEMBERS  99 

and  gave  the  reasons  why  he  and  his  brother  did  not 
like  the  look  of  things.  Their  fears  were  attributed  to 
their  intense  loyalty  to  the  Prime  Minister,  "  clannish- 
ness,"  as  it  was  termed,  good-naturedly,  by  some  of 
their  fellow-members. 

With  a  lavish  hand,  hitherto  unknown  in  political 
life  in  Canada,  Donald  A.  dispensed  hospitality  to  all 
the  Liberal  Members.  No  Tory  would  grace  his 
table,  or  even  exchange  ordinary  courtesies  with 
"  the  traitor."  The  loss  of  office  was  too  recent, 
and  the  part  that  Donald  A.  had  played  on  that 
occasion  still  rankled.  To  the  Tories  Donald  A. 
was  an  outcast,  beyond  the  pale  of  political  redemp- 
tion. But  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  was  treated 
by  the  Liberals  amply  compensated  for  the  male- 
dictions of  his  former  allies.  The  open  and  avowed 
hatred  of  the  other  side  drew  the  Liberals  all  the 
closer  to  him. 


IX 

Donald  A.  and  the  American  railway — The  Dutch  bondholders — 
Negotiating  with  the  Official  Receiver — Borrowing  from  the 
bank — Issuing  stock  to  themselves — In  a  tight  place — Fortune 
suddenly  realized. 

In    the    meantime  events  were   transpiring    in    the 

western     United    States    fraught    with    stupendous 

possibilities   to   Donald   A.    Smith.     As   the   Liberal 

Government  at  Ottawa  seemed  wedded  to  its  railway 

policy   the   advisability   of   making   an   effort   to   get 

possession  of  a  railway  line  that  could  be  extended 

from    St.    Paul    and    Minneapolis    to    Manitoba   was 

considered.     Donald  A.  was  well  acquainted  with  the 

details  of  this  from  his  frequent  journeyings  to  Fort 

Garry  through  St.  Paul. 

The  history  of  this  line  is  not  without  interest. 

In  March,  1857,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 

granted  to  Minnesota,  then  only  a  territory,  but  now 

one  of  the  most  populous  States  of  the  Union,  a  vast 

area  of  public   lands   to   be   used   to   encourage   the 

building  of  railroads.     During  the  same  month  the 

territorial    legislature  chartered    the  Minnesota  and 

Pacific  Railway  Company.     To  this  corporation  was 

conveyed   much   of   the  land   granted   by   Congress, 

subsequently  supplemented  by  further  grants.     These 

100 


A  RAILWAY  DEAL  [\\ljffi 

consisted  of  all  odd  numbered  sections  (640  acres  each) 
within  ten  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  railway.  In 
1862  the  rights  and  franchise  passed  to  a  new  company 
called  the  St.  Paul  and  Pacific  Railway.  Companies 
succeeded  each  other  in  rapid  succession.  Five 
separate  issues  of  bonds  were  unloaded  upon  Dutch 
capitalists.  The  last  company  in  possession  of  the 
franchise  ceased  to  pay  any  interest  in  1872.  Then 
the  United  States  District  Court  stepped  in  and 
appointed  Jesse  P.  Farley,  of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  Official 
Receiver  to  the  Company,  and  authority  was  secured 
to  complete  the  line  to  a  certain  point  up  the  valley 
of  the  Red  River  and  thus  earn  a  clear  title  to  all 
the  available  land  grant.  This  Farley  succeeded  in 
doing. 

The  railroad  ran  along  the  Red  River  towards 
Manitoba.  Farley  thus  far  honestly  administered 
the  trust  committed  to  his  care.  With  the  opening 
up  of  a  new  locality  to  immigrants  the  revenue  in- 
creased, and  the  surplus  was  used  in  improving  the 
road-bed,  and  purchasing  rolling  stock. 

With  the  three  years  of  the  Parliamentary  term  of 
the  Mackenzie  Government  that  had  passed,  the 
prospects  of  a  syndicate  getting  control  of  the  Pacific 
Railway  in  Canada  faded  into  mist.  Donald  A.  Smith 
was  convinced  of  the  advisability  of  making  a  deal 
with  the  Receiver  of  the  Minnesota  railway  so  as  to 
continue  it  to  the  borders  of  Manitoba,  and  then 
secure  legislation  at  Ottawa  to  connect  the  American 
line  at  Pembina  with  Winnipeg.     If  this  were  done 


10*  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Winnipeg  at  least  would  have  railway  connection  with 
Eastern  Canada  within  two  or  three  years. 

The  railroad  of  which  Farley  was  Receiver,  how- 
ever, was  burdened  with  five  bond  indebtednesses, 
all  held  in  Holland.  The  dates  of  issue  were:  1862, 
$1,200,000;  1864,  $3,000,000;  1865,  $2,800,000; 
1868,  $6,000,000;  1871,  $15,000,000.  The  last  had 
been  sold  in  Holland  by  the  banking-house  of  Lippman, 
Rosenthal  &  Co.,  of  Amsterdam,  to  trusting  Dutch- 
men. The  aggregate  liability  to  the  bondholders 
was  $28,000,000  or  £5,600,000.  It  was  thought 
possible,  under  certain  conditions,  that  Farley  might 
find  occasion  to  point  out  to  the  Dutch  investors  how 
hopeless  the  outlook  was  for  them  ever  to  get  their 
money  out  of  the  enterprise. 

Several  years  earlier  J.  J.  Hill,  a  Scotch  Canadian, 
had  settled  in  Minnesota.  For  six  years  previous  to 
this  date  he  had  been  local  agent  for  Farley's  railway. 
He  became  acquainted  with  Donald  A.  Smith  as 
he  passed  up  and  down  in  his  journeyings  to  Fort 
Garry.  They  were  fellow-countrymen,  mutual  con- 
fidences were  natural,  and  they  became  fast  friends. 
In  the  middle  'seventies  Donald  A.  Smith  sent  for 
"  Jim  "  Hill  to  come  to  "  The  Cottage  "  at  Ottawa.  A 
plan  was  settled  upon  and  Hill  returned  to  Minneapolis 
to  sound  Farley  about  selling  out  the  whole  concern 
to  a  syndicate  of  four — Donald  A.  Smith,  George 
Stephen,  of  Montreal,  J.  J.  Hill  and  Norman  Kittson, 
the  latter  being  a  Canadian  who  ran  steamers  up  the 
Red    River   from    the   terminus   of   Farley's   railway. 


A  CONVENIENT  RECEIVER  103 

Farley  subsequently  alleged  that  the  profits  were  to 
be  divided  into  fifths ;  his  share  in  the  meantime, 
since  he  was  custodian  in  trust  for  the  Dutch  bond- 
holders, was  to  be  held  by  one  of  the  other  four. 
Farley  regarded  it  as  his  clear  duty  not  to  give  the 
case  away  by  allowing  the  bondholders  to  have  too 
rosy  visions  as  to  the  ultimate  return  of  the  large 
amounts  they  had  loaned.  When  the  bonds  were 
offered,  their  security  had  appeared  unquestionable. 
Much  later  events  proved  that  their  estimation  of  the 
value  of  their  bonds  was  anything  but  exaggerated. 
But  when  that  information  reached  them  it  was  too 
late. 

It  was  the  intention  of  the  syndicate  that  J.  J.  Hill 
should  go  to  Holland  to  buy  up  the  bonds  at  their 
depressed  value.  Farley,  however,  wanted  all  these 
negotiations  left  in  his  own  hands.  As  the  result  of 
his  correspondence  with  Amsterdam,  the  Dutch  bond- 
holders sent  a  representative  to  Minneapolis  to  see 
what  was  going  to  be  done  about  their  money.  The 
encouragement  that  he  received  from  Farley  convinced 
him,  after  a  controversy  extending  over  several  weeks, 
that  $6,000,000  or  £1,200,000  for  the  £5,600,000  that 
had  been  invested,  was  all  that  the  properties  of  the 
Company  could  ever  realize. 

In  the  back  parlour  of  a  little  hotel  in  Minneapolis 
an  agreement  was  outlined  between  the  Dutch  repre- 
sentative on  the  one  hand,  and  J.  J.  Hill,  Donald 
A.  Smith,  George  Stephen  and  Norman  Kittson  on 
the  other,  and  put  into  shape  by  a  young  man  from 


104  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Hamilton,  Ontario,  named  Rennie,  duly  transferring 
all  the  bonds  on  the  line  for  the  sum  of  $6,000,000. 
The  parties  afterwards  signed  a  joint  note  for  the 
amount  of  the  purchase,  including  an  additional 
$780,000  expenditure  necessary  for  contingencies. 
The  cash  was  advanced  by  the  Canadian  Bank,  of  which 
Donald  A.  Smith  and  George  Stephen  were  directors, 
and  paid  to  the  Dutchmen  at  Montreal,  where  a  more 
elaborate  legal  document  was  signed  between  the 
parties.  Farley,  because  he  was  a  court  trustee, 
while  acting  as  Receiver,  could  not  be  an  actual  party 
to  the  agreement.  No  writing  could  be  given  to  him 
guaranteeing  him  a  fifth  share  in  the  enterprise,  but 
the  fact  that  one  of  the  four  held  a  right  to  two-fifths 
of  the  profits  was  part  of  the  basis  of  Farley's  con- 
tention in  later  years  that  he  was  entitled  to  a  fifth 
in  the  enterprise  for  the  part  that  he  had  taken  in 
persuading  the  Dutchmen  to  sell  their  securities. 

The  syndicate  became  incorporated  as  the  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis  and  Manitoba  Railway,  and  issued  paid-up 
capital  to  themselves  for  $15,000,000  (£3, 000,000)/  no 
trace  of  any  consideration  for  which  ever  reached  the 
coffers  of  the  Company.  Smith,  Hill  and  Kittson 
were  allotted  28,823  shares,  being  about  one-fifth 
each,  and  Stephen's  share  was  19,216  shares,  one- 
half  of  which  it  was  subsequently  alleged  was  to  be 
held  in  trust  for  some  person  not  mentioned  in  the 
agreement.  This  division  of  interests  subsequently 
became  the  subject  of  extended  and  costly  litigation, 
and  is  fully  reported  in  File  No.  257  of  the  Supreme 

1  Appendix,  3. 


MILLIONS   OF   PROFIT  105 

Court  of  the  United  States,  1893.     But  this  is  another 
story. 

The  Company  as  now  constructed  issued  bonds  for 
$16,000,000  (£3, 200,000), 1  and  unsuccessful  efforts 
were  made  to  sell  them  in  New  York  and  London. 
Rumours  had  reached  these  financial  centres  as  to  the 
"  deal,"  and  it  was  feared  that  the  disastrous  fate 
which  had  overtaken  the  Dutchmen  might  be  repeated. 
In  the  meantime  the  consequences  of  withdrawing 
£1,200,000  from  the  Canadian  bank  had  a  depressing 
effect  on  the  stock,  which  steadily  declined  from  over 
200  to  126.  The  one  thing  that  might  ease  the 
money-market,  and  allow  the  bonds  to  be  dealt  with, 
was  an  assurance  that  the  railway  would  be  extended  to 
Winnipeg.  Donald  A.  Smith,  therefore,  introduced 
a  Bill  in  the  House  of  Commons,  known  as  the  Pembina 
Branch  Railway  Bill,  to  authorize  the  construction 
of  the  necessary  connection  to  Winnipeg  through 
Canadian  territory,  a  distance  of  sixty  miles.  The 
Bill  passed  the  House  of  Commons,  and  there  seemed  no 
reasonable  cause  why  it  should  not  find  an  easy  passage 
through  the  Senate.  With  this  prospect  the  immense 
possibilities  of  the  railway  were  only  too  evident,  and  a 
profitable  market  was  found  for  the  bonds. 

Donald  A.  Smith  had  succeeded.  At  last  his  star  was 
within  reach.  The  indebtedness  of  the  syndicate  to 
the  bank,  then  amounting  with  interest  to  $7,000,000 
(£1,400,000)  was  paid,  leaving  about  $8,500,000 
(£1,700,000)  profit,  or  $1,700,000  (£340,000)  to  each 
share  of  one-fifth  of  the  enormous  speculation. 

1  Appendix,  3. 


106  LORD   STRATHCONA 

By  this  successful  coup  Donald  A.  Smith  and  his 
associates  immediately  came  into  possession  of  565 
miles  of  a  completed  and  fully  equipped  railway,  with 
2,580,660  acres  of  the  finest  wheat-land  in  the  world 
running  alongside  of  the  line.  Upon  this  property 
the  Company  had  not  expended  a  penny  of  their  own 
money — the  stock  issued  to  themselves  was  fully 
paid  up — and  the  money  necessary  to  manipulate  the 
deal  had  been  borrowed  from  the  Canadian  bank. 
At  that  time  directors  of  banks  in  Canada  had  a 
perfectly  legal  right  to  borrow  from  funds  entrusted 
to  their  charge.  Owing,  however,  to  this  power 
having  been  greatly  abused,  the  authority  of  directors 
became  a  subject  of  Parliamentary  discussion  in 
later  years,  resulting  in  amendments  to  the  Banking 
Act  which  practically  prevents  such  acts  as  the  one 
under  consideration  being  repeated  at  the  present  day. 
On  the  face  of  the  transaction  there  was  no  risk  whatever 
of  the  bank  funds,  and  there  was  a  great  opportunity  for 
the  interested  parties  coming  out  of  the  speculation 
with  enormous  profits.  The  situation  of  the  railway 
in  the  west  had  been  presented  to  the  Dutch  bond- 
holders in  such  a  manner  that  they  were  willing 
enough  to  sell.  The  children  of  the  Exodus  had  been 
commanded  to  spoil  the  Egyptians,  and  therefore 
why  should  not  this  Company  spoil  the  Dutchmen? 
How  thoroughly  they  were  spoiled  subsequent  events 
in  the  United  States  Courts  proved.  It  was  worthy 
of  the  Israelites ! 


Tory  insults  to  Donald  A. — Intrigues  for  Pacific  charter — Senate 
taking  revenge — Failure  of  intrigues — The  Government  ob- 
durate— Historical  scene  in  House  of  Commons. 

While   Donald  A.   Smith    and    his    associates    were 

reaping  a  colossal  fortune  from  the  success  of  their 

United    States    railway    speculation,    matters    were 

taking  a  far  from  satisfactory  course  at  Ottawa.     The 

Pembina   Branch  Railway  Bill  was  rejected  by  the 

Senate.     It    was    well   known    that    its    passage   was 

greatly  desired  by  Donald  A.  Smith  as  the  one  thing 

necessary  to  make  his  railway  deal  a  huge  success. 

The  Tories  were  in  a  majority  in  the  Senate.     The 

Second  Chamber  of  the  Canadian  Parliament  is  an 

integral  part  of  the  Constitution,  designed,  like  the 

House  of  Lords  in  Great  Britain,  to  protect  the  public 

against  ill-advised  or  hasty  legislation  in  the  popular 

Chamber.     The  Senators  are  expected  to  review  Bills 

from  the  Lower  House  with  judicial  calm  and  free 

from   party   bias.      As   individuals,    members   of   the 

Senate,  however,  are  only  human.     There  were  many 

there  who  had  not  forgotten  the  "  traitor  "  who  had 

hastened  the  downfall  of  Sir  John  A.   Macdonald's 

Government  in  1873.     Some  of  them  burned  with  a 

desire  to  carry  the  Pembina  Branch  Bill  back  to  the 

House  of  Commons  with  a  pair  of  tongs.     Within  the 

107 


108  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Reef  Chamber  the  teachings  of  the  Old  Testament, 
"  an  eye  for  an  eye,"  are  not  unknown  to  have  been 
religiously  observed.  The  Tory  Senators  contented 
themselves,  however,  with  refusing  to  pass  the  measure 
for  strong  Imperial  reasons — the  inadvisability  of  per- 
mitting the  trade  of  the  Dominion  to  be  carried  over 
the  United  States  railway  system,  while  the  Govern- 
ment of  Canada  was  hurrying  the  construction  of 
railway  connection  through  Canadian  territory. 

The  Parliament  was  almost  at  an  end,  the  last 
session  of  its  existence  having  been  reached.  For  five 
long  years  Donald  A.  Smith  had  wined  and  dined  the 
Liberal  Members.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  although 
some  were  less  opposed  to  the  idea  of  a  Company 
constructing  the  Pacific  Railway,  the  Prime  Minister 
was  immovable,  and  a  still  greater  obstacle  existed  in 
the  fact  that  both  Parliament  and  the  country  had 
enthusiastically  approved  of  the  Government  policy 
that  the  railway  should  be  the  property  of  the  country. 
Some  thirty  million  dollars  (£6,000,000)  expenditure 
had  been  authorized  by  Parliament  towards  the  con- 
struction of  the  Pacific  line.  Contracts  had  been 
awarded  for  the  heavy  portions  of  the  route  located 
between  the  Great  Lakes  and  Winnipeg,  the  Premier 
asserting  that  this  would  make  it  impossible  that  the 
great  highway  should  ever  pass  into  the  hands  of  a 
company.  To  outsiders  it  seemed  that  those  who 
were  anxious  to  get  control  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  were  now  completely  barred  from  progressing 
with  their  scheme. 


A   PARLIAMENTARY   MOB  109 

But  Donald  A.  Smith  and  his  co-workers  were  not 
discouraged.  They  had  far  from  exhausted  the 
resources  at  their  disposal.  The  exact  course  to  be 
taken  in  the  future  to  bring  the  Government  to  time 
had,  perhaps,  not  been  decided  upon.  Then  an 
incident  occurred  on  the  floor  of  Parliament  that, 
apparently,  left  Donald  A.  Smith  no  other  place  in 
public  life  than  in  the  ranks  of  the  Liberal  party. 

The  hour  for  the  Prorogation  had  arrived.  The 
attendance  of  Members  was  larger  than  usual.  All 
around  there  were  evidences  of  early  flitting.  The 
House  was  patiently  waiting  for  Black  Rod.  Donald 
A.  Smith  entered  the  Chamber  somewhat  hastily 
and  had  scarcely  reached  his  seat  before  he  began  to 
address  the  Speaker.  In  his  hand  was  a  carefully 
folded  newspaper.  He  complained  about  an  uncalled- 
for  and  totally  unjustifiable  reflection  upon  his  per- 
sonal honour  in  a  speech  made  by  the  leader  of  the 
Opposition,  Sir  John  Macdonald,  the  day  before,  a 
report  of  which  appeared  in  the  paper  which  he  pro- 
posed to  read  to  the  House.  In  a  moment  the  Chamber 
was  in  a  turmoil.  Above  the  general  uproar  and  shouts 
of  "  Order,  order,"  could  be  heard  the  terms — 
"  Treacherous,"  "  Liar,"  "  Cowardly,"  "  Yankee  rail- 
way," "  Dutch  Bondholders,"  and  much  else  that 
was  unparliamentary.  The  distant  booming  of  the 
guns  announced  the  arrival  of  Lord  Dufferin  at  the 
Senate  Chamber,  there  to  await  the  presence  of  his 
"  faithful  Commons,"  but  His  Excellency's  "  faith- 
ful  Commons  "  were  otherwise  engaged.      Sir  John 


110  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Macdonald.  Dr.  Tupper,  Mackenzie  Bowell,  John 
Rochester,  Dr.  Sproule  and  a  host  of  others  were 
shouting  themselves  hoarse  and  gesticulating  wildly 
at  the  object  of  their  scorn.  Donald  A.  Smith  stood 
calmly  watching  the  turmoil  and  waiting  his  chance  to 
continue  his  remarks.  In  the  five  years  that  had 
elapsed  since  he  denounced  his  political  chief,  grey 
hairs  had  appeared.  He  had  less  of  the  western 
appearance,  but  his  figure  was  as  impressive  and 
fearless  as  ever.  Now  he  seemed  the  least  disturbed 
member  of  all  that  crowd.  The  noise  of  the  row 
reached  the  lobbies,  and  a  few  who  had  ventured 
inside  the  doors,  among  whom  was  the  writer,  were 
forced  nearer  the  Speaker's  Chair  by  the  crush  behind. 
Dr.  Tupper  (now  Sir  Charles,  the  veteran  octogenarian) 
finally  got  the  floor.  The  uproar  increased  in  in- 
tensity, as  both  sides  now  took  part,  the  Liberal 
Benches  shouting  at  Tupper.  It  was  a  sight  to  make 
sluggish  blood  tingle ! 

The  loud  raps  of  Black  Rod  at  the  door  resounded 
throughout  the  Chamber.  The  Speaker  tried  in  vain 
to  be  heard,  but  the  contestants  were  in  for  a  battle- 
royal,  determined  to  fight  it  out.  It  was  now  not 
merely  between  Donald  A.  on  the  one  side,  and  Dr. 
Tupper  on  the  other,  but  each  side  of  the  House 
wanted  the  defence  of  its  representative  to  be  recorded 
in  Hansard.  The  Speaker  resumed  his  seat.  Black 
Rod  impatiently  waited  outside.  Hansard  l  gives  some 
vague  idea  of  the  scene,  but  much  that  was  unpadia- 

1  Appendix,  4. 


WASHING   DIRTY   LINEN  111 

mentary  was  unheard  or  omitted.  The  washing  of 
dirty  linen  could  not  be  stopped.  Private  and  con- 
fidential conversations  between  ertswhile  intimate 
friends,  never  intended  for  the  public,  were  announced 
from  the  housetops.  Dr.  Tupper  shouted,  "  You 
asked  me  to  get  you  made  a  Privy  Councillor,"  and  the 
House  was  startled  into  surprised  silence  for  a  moment. 
The  general  situation  proved  that  if  their  inner 
thoughts  are  exposed  great  men  are  very  human — 
only  boys  grown  up.  If  those  taking  part  in  this 
melee  had  been  other  than  Members  of  Parliament 
their  reputations  would  have  gone  for  ever,  for  the 
record  is  irrevocable. 

The  Serjeant-at-Arms  tried  to  notify  the  Speaker 
that  a  messenger  from  His  Excellency  requested  ad- 
mission, but  his  effort  was  in  vain.  Black  Rod  knocked 
again  and  again,  but  he  might  as  well  have  knocked 
at  the  portals  of  a  tomb.  Finally  the  Speaker  motioned 
towards  the  door  and  Black  Rod  entered.  He  bowed 
profusely  as  usual,  and  his  lips  moved,  but  no  sound 
reached  the  "  faithful  Commons."  The  Speaker 
stood  and  evidently  made  an  announcement,  which 
was  not  heard  beyond  his  immediate  vicinity.  The 
speakers,  addressing  one  another,  fought  on  with  un- 
abated fury.  With  all  due  dignity  the  Speaker  stepped 
down  from  the  dais,  the  Serjeant-at-Arms  shouldered 
the  Mace,  and  preceded  by  Black  Rod,  they  slowly 
entered  the  lobby  leading  to  the  Senate.  Immediately 
following  came  the  Members  of  the  Government,  among 
whom  was  a  tall  straight  figure,  with  a  handsome 


112  LORD   STRATHCONA 

youthful  face,  carrying  with  becoming  dignity  the 
lately-acquired  honours  of  a  portfolio  in  the  Govern- 
ment, who  was  destined,  ere  a  quarter  of  a  century 
could  roll  by,  to  occupy  the  greatest  place  in  the  public 
eye  ever  reached  by  a  colonial  statesman.  After  the 
Cabinet  followed  as  excited  a  mob  as  ever  disgraced 
the  floor  of  a  Parliamentary  chamber.  With  a  de- 
termination to  be  as  near  the  storm  centre  as  possible, 
the  writer  rushed  towards  Donald  A.  Smith.  As  the 
crowd  from  both  sides  of  the  House  met  in  the  passage, 
angry  Tories,  with  arms  uplifted  as  if  to  strike,  pushed 
and  hustled  towards  the  object  of  their  hatred.  There 
were  several  others  with  myself,  who,  for  obvious 
reasons,  had  no  right  to  be  there,  but  messengers  and 
doorkeepers  had  lost  their  heads  as  well  as  the  people's 
representatives.  The  crowd  swayed  to  and  fro,  and 
the  writer  found  himself  beside  Donald  A.  Smith  just 
as  Tory  members  reached  out  to  strike  his  grey  top 
hat,  one  of  whom  was  my  own  uncle.  In  the  rush  of 
friends  to  avert  the  blow  I  was  thrown  against  my 
relative,  for  whom  I  had  not  voted  at  the  last  election, 
and  whose  regard  for  me  was  even  less  friendly  than 
his  opposition  to  Donald  A.  It  was  a  shuffling  and 
slightly  dishevelled  crowd  that  finally  reached  the 
Senate  Chamber,  but  once  inside  those  dignified 
precincts  the  frenzied  excitement  quickly  subsided. 
Thirty  years  afterwards,  sitting  in  Lord  Lytton's 
library  at  Knebworth,  when  Lord  Strathcona  held  the 
tenancy,  we  compared  our  recollections  of  the  events 
of  that  hour.  He  then  said  that  he  looked  upon  that 
experience  as  one  of  the  most  exciting  in  his  life. 


A   WITCH   OF   ENDOR  VIEW  113 

It  is  necessary  to  read  the  Parliamentary  record  to 
thoroughly  understand  the  bitterness  in  the  political 
life  of  the  Dominion  at  that  time,  and  to  appreciate 
the  force  of  the  cross-currents  that  swept  around 
Donald  A.  Smith  at  that  period. 

It  would  have  both  interested  and  perplexed  Donald 
A.  Smith  if  at  this  juncture  he  could  have  lifted  the 
veil  and  looked  into  the  future,  to  see  himself  within 
six  months  secretly  taking  part  in  the  rejoicings  of  his 
political  enemies.  To  see  their  leader  and  every  one 
of  his  followers  within  two  years  the  unconscious 
instruments  of  his  plans,  and  the  hearty  supporters  of 
the  personal  project  that  had  become  the  dream  of 
his  life,  would  have  been  pleasant ;  to  see  one  who 
was  then  hurling  insults  at  him  from  the  back  benches 
the  object  of  a  treacherous  conspiracy  on  the  part  of 
his  own  selected  colleagues,  when  a  word  from  him 
would  prevent  his  deposition  from  the  position  of 
Prime  Minister,  would  have  entirely  satisfied  his 
longing  for  revenge.  And  if  he  could  have  seen  the 
noisiest  of  that  unruly  Parliamentary  mob  a  more 
subservient  instrument  and  ostentatious  admirer  for 
twenty  years  than  all  the  Canadian  politicians  who 
were  destined  to  fall  down  and  worship  him,  it  would 
have  formed  a  fitting  climax  to  make  the  vision 
complete.  Perhaps  more  extraordinary  and  less  satis- 
factory to  contemplate  would  be  the  sight  of  his  own 
hand  turned  against  those  who  were  now  giving  him 
their  sympathy,  as  they  had  given  him  their  unsolicited 
support  upon  the  question  that  was  the  cause  of  the 
disturbance  then  taking  place. 


XI 

Undiscovered  intrigue — Before  the  elections — Elections  postponed — 
Effect  of  chance  conversation — The  tempter  again — Donald  A.'s 
election — Corrupt  practices — Loan  to  the  Judge. 

Thus  closed  the  first  Parliament  controlled  by  the 
Liberal  party  since  the  inauguration  of  Confederation. 
It  was  not  until  long  afterwards  that  the  Tories  dis- 
covered the  intrigue  which  had  been  quietly  developing 
during  the  five  years  that  had  elapsed  since  they  were 
driven  from  office,  by  a  syndicate  desirous  of  securing 
a  charter  for  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway.  Tory  leaders  were  not  even  aware  that  the 
wire-pulling  had  proved  abortive,  and  that  because 
of  the  failure  to  turn  Alexander  Mackenzie  from  his 
patriotic  determination  to  leave  the  great  transconti- 
nental highway  as  a  heritage  to  the  Canadian  people, 
tremendous  weapons  were  to  be  offered  to  them, 
which,  if  discreetly  used,  would  materially  assist  in 
returning  them  to  power  again.  Equally  unsuspicious 
were  they  that  "  the  arch-traitor,"  as  they  continually 
called  Donald  A.  Smith,  was  seriously  debating  in  his 
own  mind  whether  he  should  not  sever  his  connection 
with  the  Liberal  party.  But  the  closing  scene  in  the 
House  of  Commons  made  such  an  announcement 
impossible.     It    was    years    before    this    information 

filtered  through  to  the  general  public.     All  that  was 

114 


WASTING  THEIR  ENERGIES  115 

known  was  that  the  charter-hunters,  whose  sole 
object  was  to  secure  possession  of  what  the  Govern- 
ment of  that  day  declared  to  be  the  nation's  heritage, 
had  found  themselves  confronted  by  an  administration 
which  had  remained  serenely  unmoved  in  spite  of  every 
influence  they  could  exercise.  With  this  Ministry  in 
power  their  efforts  were  wasted.  In  order  to  secure 
a  franchise,  which  must  in  the  long  run  make  its 
possessors  wealthy  at  the  public  expense,  it  was  evident 
that  new  tactics  must  be  tried.  They  measured  the 
possibilities  in  the  other  political  camp,  and  decided 
that  nothing  should  be  left  undone  that  would  bring 
about  the  defeat  of  the  Mackenzie  Government. 
Their  influence  was  widespread,  their  plan  of  campaign 
well  laid.  No  gamblers  ever  played  for  higher  stakes. 
The  game  was  to  play  with  loaded  dice,  and  the 
players'  identity  remain  hidden  and  secret. 

The  general  election  campaign  of  1878  offered 
unusual  opportunities  to  discredit  the  Liberal  admini- 
stration. For  two  or  three  years  the  revenue  had 
not  equalled  the  expenditure.  This  necessitated  the 
strictest  economy  in  the  public  finances.  Canadian 
politicians,  as  a  class,  invariably  stand  pledged  to 
economy  when  appealing  to  the  electorate.  Yet  it  is 
very  doubtful  whether  the  electorate  in  any  country 
really  approve  of  too  economical  an  administration. 
Since  Confederation,  no  Canadian  Government  has 
been  defeated  at  the  polls  because  they  had  the 
courage  to  sanction  liberal  expenditures ;  while  more 
than  one  Government  has  been  forced  out  of  office 


116  LORD   STRATHCONA 

on  account  of  its  studied  economy  with  public  moneys. 
By  a  certain  class  of  politicians,  Alexander  Mackenzie's 
attitude  in  regard  to  the  finances  was  considered  the 
greatest  offence  against  the  public  morals  that  the 
administration  had  been  guilty  of. 

The  Government  had  also  refused  to  adopt  the 
policy  of  Protection  that  was  energetically  demanded 
in  the  interest  of  the  manufacturers.  A  period  of 
severe  financial  depression  was  being  experienced  in 
commercial  circles,  and  the  Tories  strongly  advocated 
an  increase  in  the  tariff  as  a  panacea  for  all  public  ills. 

The  Government  had  made  preparations  for  a 
short  campaign.  In  the  latter  part  of  April,  1878,  the 
writs  were  all  ready  to  issue,  so  that  the  polling  would 
take  place  in  June.  A  Member  of  the  Government,  Sir 
Richard  Cartwright,  happened  to  mention  this  to  a 
former  Member  of  the  Cabinet,  Hon.  Edward  Blake, 
the  day  that  the  decision  had  been  reached,  at  a  chance 
meeting  at  a  railway  junction.  Mr.  Blake  had  with- 
drawn from  the  Cabinet  for  personal  reasons,  but 
he  immediately  pressed  on  the  Premier  the  advisability 
of  postponing  the  elections  until  the  autumn,  in  the 
hope  that  a  good  harvest  might  prove  to  the  general 
advantage  of  the  Government.  Notwithstanding  the 
persistent  advocacy  of  the  earlier  date  by  his  colleagues 
in  the  Cabinet  (and  they  were  practically  unanimous 
on  the  question),  the  First  Minister  decided  to  take 

the  advice  of  his  old  colleague  and  postpone  the  date 
of  the  elections.      An  election  in  June  would  have 

been    practically   a   walk-over   for   the   Government. 

This  was  the  opinion  of  both  sides  for  long  afterwards. 


CASH  FOR  THE  ELECTIONS  117 

Time  was  what  the  Tory  leaders  wanted.  Sir  John 
Macdonald  still  led  the  Tory  forces,  and  he  never 
showed  more  ability  in  directing  a  popular  campaign 
than  on  this  occasion.  He  seized  this  opportunity 
to  carry  on  an  educational  propaganda,  and  also 
promised  in  terms  which  left  no  room  for  misunder- 
standing, unbounded  prosperity  through  an  increased 
tariff.  He  needed  time  in  which  to  make  the  party's 
financial  arrangements.  His  organization  centres  were 
bankrupt.  He  had  educated  his  party  in  the  Pacific 
scandal  campaign  with  Sir  Hugh  Allan's  money  to  see 
the  necessity  of  having  a  reasonable  amount  for 
"  contingencies "  in  election  contests.  The  trite 
saying  "  Once  bitten,  twice  shy  "  had  no  terrors  for 
the  Tory  leader  of  that  day.  In  the  most  ostentatious 
manner  the  manufacturers  were  called  together,  and 
subscriptions  solicited  from  them  to  assist  in  carrying 
through  a  policy  of  Protection,  which  would  probably 
mean  a  great  deal  to  them.  They  were  reminded 
"  Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  when  he  treadeth  out 
the  corn."  It  needed  no  special  application  to  drive 
the  scriptural  injunction  home.  The  policy  of  the 
Tory  leaders  was  to  make  these  people  rich.  But 
unhappily  at  a  meeting  from  which  fifty  thousand 
dollars  (^10,000)  was  expected  less  than  five  thousand 
(£1000)  was  actually  realized. 

At  this  moment  came  most  welcome  offers  of 
tangible  assistance.  Mr.  Abbott  was  Sir  Hugh  Allan's 
confidential  adviser  when  the  subscription  to  the 
Tory  election  funds  was  made  seven  years  previously, 
and  he  now  knew  the  pit-falls  to  be  avoided.     It  was 


118  LORD   STRATHCONA 


intimated  to  an  influential  member  of  the  party,  who 
held  no  official  position,  that  Mr.  Abbott  was  author- 
ized to  guarantee  all  the  money  that  might  be  required 
in  the  campaign  to  secure  Sir  John  Macdonald's 
return  to  power,  as  the  result  of  the  pending  elections, 
if  a  verbal  assurance  was  given  that,  in  the  event  of 
Sir  John's  success,  he  would  consider  favourably  a 
proposal  on  terms  that  would  be  submitted  later  for 
the  construction  of  the  Pacific  Railway  by  a  responsible 
company.  Mr.  Abbott  was  one  of  the  few  men  in 
Canada  whom  Sir  John  could  trust  implicitly  on  any 
subject  of  a  delicate  or  rather  compromising  nature. 
Mr.  Abbott  had  been  in  the  old  Pacific  Scandal  deal, 
many  of  the  details  of  which  had  never  been  revealed. 
The  required  assurance  of  Sir  John  Macdonald  was 
duly  given.  He  did  not  ask  where  the  money  was 
coming  from.  It  was  sufficient  for  him  to  know  that 
it  was  to  be  provided  on  a  liberal  scale,  and  that  his 
organizers  would  not  have  to  make  any  apologies  for 
sudden  requirements  towards  the  end  of  the  campaign, 
as  he  had  been  compelled  to  do  with  Sir  Hugh  Allan 
seven  years  previously. 

Under  the  circumstances  it  was  not  surprising  that 
by  September  the  promises  of  "  good  times  "  to  be 
brought  on  by  additional  taxation  had  taken  a  thorough 
grasp  on  the  public  mind.  When  the  result  of  the 
polling  was  published  on  the  evening  of  the  17th  of 
September,  1878,  it  was  seen  that  Alexander  Mac- 
kenzie's Government  had  been  swept  out  of  existence  ; 
and  that  the  party  which  stood  convicted  in  the 
public  mind  five  years  previously  of  granting  a  great 


BITTER  ELECTION   CAMPAIGN  119 

public  charter  in  consideration  for  an  election  sub- 
scription was  to  be  again  entrusted  with  the  admini- 
stration of  the  affairs  of  the  country.  And  there  were 
a  favoured  few  within  an  inner  circle  who  did  not  see 
much  likelihood  of  the  Pacific  Railway  long  remaining 
a  great  national  asset. 

Out  of  the  political  cataclysm  Donald  A.  Smith 
emerged  as  a  supporter  of  the  defeated  Liberal  leader, 
being  again  elected  for  Selkirk.1  The  Tories  had 
thrown  their  strongest  forces  against  him.  Into  that 
particular  part  of  Manitoba  had  gone  a  consider- 
able number  of  settlers  from  the  vicinity  of  Ottawa, 
whose  admiration  for  Sir  John  Macdonald  was  most 
intense.  To  bring  about  the  defeat  of  the  head  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  had  turned  "  traitor  " 
in  1873  to  their  political  idol,  and  on  the  very  spot 
where  stood  the  first  stone  fort  of  the  Company,  the 
tangible  evidence  of  Donald  A.'s  former  authority, 
would  make  life  worth  living.  The  extreme  bitter- 
ness of  the  contest  may,  therefore,  be  imagined. 
Donald  A.  Smith  announced  his  sympathy  with  his 
political  associates  at  Ottawa  during  the  previous  five 
years.  Although  calling  himself  a  Conservative,  he 
declared  his  intention  of  continuing,  as  heretofore, 
to  support  Alexander  Mackenzie.  In  a  memorandum 
written  with  his  own  hand,  defining  his  position  more 
clearly,  he  said — 

"  As    he  has  no  favour   to   ask  and   nothing 
personal  to  desire  from  any  Government,  he  will 
support  only  such  measures  as  are  conducive  to 
1  Appendix,  18. 


120  LORD   STRATHCONA 

the  advancement  of  Manitoba  and  the  North- 
west in  the  first  instance,  and  the  general  pros- 
perity of  the  Dominion." 

It  remained  for  the  future  to  offer  a  peculiar  com- 
mentary on  this  declaration  of  the  principles  by  which 
he  claimed  to  be  actuated.  In  the  meantime  the 
syndicate  of  which  he  was  destined  to  be  the  most 
prominent  member  was  secretly  pouring  money  into 
the  campaign  coffers  of  the  Tory  party.  The  forces 
were  at  work  in  which  he  had  important  interests  that 
were  to  bring  about  the  defeat  of  his  own  friends,  and 
aid  in  the  success  of  his  most  bitter  political  and 
personal  opponents.  A  petition  charging  that  his 
election  had  been  secured  by  bribery  and  corruption 
on  the  part  of  himself  and  his  agents  was  filed  in 
the  courts.  Parliament  was  summoned  to  meet  in  the 
early  part  of  1879,  too  soon  after  the  election  for  the 
trial  to  take  place,  so  that  he  was  able  to  take  his  seat 
in  the  House  as  a  supporter  of  the  defeated  Govern- 
ment. Election  trials  against  Members  of  the  House 
of  Commons  cannot  be  proceeded  with  while  Parlia- 
ment is  sitting;  therefore,  no  matter  under  what 
circumstances  a  candidate  may  be  successful,  if  he 
can  stave  off  the  date  of  the  trial  by  preliminary  objec- 
tions until  Parliament  meets,  he  takes  his  seat  as  the 
representative  of  the  constituency. 

During  the  Parliamentary  recess  the  Selkirk  Election 
Petition  came  to  trial.  As  is  usual  in  election  cases 
the  evidence  was  contradictory,  running  a  close  race 
with  perjury.     The  petitioners  claimed  that,  on  the 


LOANING   MONEY   TO   A  JUDGE  121 

evidence  placed  before  the  court,  they  had  fully 
proved  corrupt  practices  sufficient  to  void  the 
election.  Mr.  Justice  Betourney  decided  otherwise, 
and  confirmed  Donald  A.  Smith  in  the  seat.  There 
was  great  jubilation  on  the  part  of  Donald  A.'s  friends 
in  the  constituency.  Selkirk  was  literally  painted  red 
that  night  by  the  victorious  party.  But  the  denoue- 
ment was  dramatic.  A  local  journalist  discovered 
that  the  Judge  had  borrowed  money  from  the  suc- 
cessful litigant,  and  was  indebted  to  him  for  the 
sum  of  $4000  (£800),  and  that  a  mortgage  was 
registered  upon  the  Judge's  property  in  the  name  of 
Donald  A.  Smith  as  security  for  the  loan. 

The  petitioners  promptly  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Canada  against  Mr.  Justice  Betourney's 
decision.  The  usual  legal  delays  intervened  so  that 
Donald  A.  was  permitted  to  take  his  seat  again  in 
Parliament  in  the  early  part  of  1880.  He  still  retained 
his  old  relationship  with  the  Liberal  party.  There 
was  no  sign  upon  the  political  horizon  of  the  coming 
events,  already  beginning  to  take  shape,  that  were 
calculated  to  change  his  relationship  in  the  near  future 
towards  the  political  parties  in  the  House — a  relation- 
ship fraught  with  such  tremendous  import  to  the 
history  of  the  country.  The  Liberal  leaders  were 
unconscious  of  any  negotiations,  to  which  he  was  a 
party,  taking  place  with  the  Government,  and  after 
the  disastrous  campaign  gave  him  their  unreserved 
confidence.  There  were  cogent  reasons  why  it  should 
not  be  known  that  "  wheresoever  the  carcase  is,  there 
will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together." 


XII 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  in  office  again — "  So  much  the  worse  for 
British  connection" — Unseated  by  the  Supreme  Court— The 
Pacific  Railway  charter  in  sight — The  agreement — Donald  A. 
Smith  kept  out  of  sight — Charter  hunters'  success. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  assumed  office  in  November, 
1878.  The  new  administration  was  no  sooner  in- 
stalled than  it  was  announced  that  the  manufacturers, 
who  had  so  largely  supported  the  Government  in  the 
expectation  of  a  change  in  the  fiscal  policy  of  the 
country,  had  no  occasion  for  anxiety — the  promise  of 
Protection  would  be  fulfilled  in  letter  and  spirit. 
The  Budget  revealed  a  system  of  Protection  to  which 
no  objection  could  be  taken  by  the  advocates  of  a 
policy  which  claimed  to  make  the  public  rich  by  adding 
to  the  taxation  of  the  country.  Objection  was  taken 
to  the  tariff  that  it  would  be  a  serious  blow  to  British 
trade,  and  the  suggestion  was  made  that  it  might 
endanger  British  connection.  One  of  the  principal 
writers  at  that  time  on  the  leading  Tory  organ,  the 
Toronto  Mail,  was  a  brilliant  journalist  from  Nova 
Scotia,  Mr.  Martin  J.  Griffin,  who  was  also  a  defeated 
candidate  for  Parliament  in  Halifax  in  1878.  The 
Mail  replied  to  this  expressed  fear  about  the  effect  of 

the   proposed   tariff   on   British   trade,  by  declaring, 

122 


EFFECT  ON  BRITISH   CONNECTION      123 

"  then  it  is  so  much  the  worse  for  British  connection," 
an  expression  which  became  a  byword  in  Canadian 
politics  for  many  years  afterwards.  This  taunt  was 
all  the  more  significant  because  Mr.  Griffin  had  a  few 
years  before  contributed  a  remarkable  article,  over  his 
own  signature,  to  an  American  periodical,  presenting 
an  exceptionally  strong  case  in  favour  of  the  annexation 
of  Canada  to  the  United  States.  But  the  Canadian 
manufacturers  were  naturally  looking  after  their  own 
interests,  and  were  not  concerned  about  the  effect  of 
the  new  tariff  upon  British  trade.  They  had  given 
the  Government  their  best  services  in  the  recent 
election,  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  were 
amply  repaid. 

During  the  earlier  session  of  1880,  Sir  John  Mac- 
donald  intimated  to  the  House  that  the  policy  of  the 
administration  respecting  the  Canadian  Pacific  Rail- 
way would  probably  be  announced  at  the  next  session 
of  Parliament,  which,  unless  his  plans  miscarried,  would 
be  summoned  before  the  end  of  the  year.  Immedi- 
ately after  the  Prorogation  Sir  John  Macdonald  came 
to  London,  accompanied  by  his  more  prominent 
colleagues.  It  was  officially  announced  that  negotia- 
tions were  under  way  with  British  capitalists  to  secure 
the  early  completion  of  the  railway.  It  was  even 
hinted  in  Canada  that  as  the  work  would  be  of  great 
Imperial  service  in  opening  a  short  route  to  the  Far 
East,  the  possibility  of  securing  Imperial  assistance 
was  not  too  much  to  hope  for.  Sir  John  and  his 
colleagues  were  received  with  marked  attention.     Lord 


124  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Beaconsfield,  in  office  at  that  time,  gave  them  his 
countenance.  The  alleged  facial  resemblance  between 
the  British  and  Canadian  Prime  Ministers  was  current 
talk  in  social  circles,  evidently  pleasing  to  the  vanity 
of  both.  But  the  visit  to  London  did  not  result  in 
the  attainment  of  the  alleged  desired  object.  No 
arrangement  was  made  in  London  for  the  construction 
of  the  transcontinental  railway.  Later  developments 
were  taken  to  indicate  that  the  visit  to  London  was 
not  taken  with  sincere  intentions  of  completing  arrange- 
ments about  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  To  have 
entered  into  an  arrangement  in  Canada  immediately 
after  the  elections  might  have  created  suspicion.  The 
episode  connected  with  Sir  Hugh  Allan  was  still  a 
bitter  recollection,  not  only  to  the  leader  of  the 
Government  but  to  the  Canadian  people.  At  any 
rate  the  impression  created  in  London  by  Sir  John  and 
his  colleagues  was  far  from  favourable.  A  leading 
London  publication  said  at  the  time — 

"  The  Dominion  Ministers  have  grossly  mis- 
managed their  mission.  They  have  repelled 
confidence,  where  they  might  have  nourished 
faith.  They  have  created  distrust  where  they 
ought  to  have  cultivated  hope,  and  they  have 
been  mysterious  and  fussy  at  the  same  time. 
They  have  flourished  about  their  object,  and  have 
inspired  communications  that  have  proved  to  be 
misleading.  The  upshot  is  that,  with  the  best 
intentions,  perhaps,  they  have  cast  no  credit  on 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway." 


UNSEATED   FOR   CORRUPT   PRACTICES     125 

The  third  session  of  the  Parliament  was  called  in 
the  latter  part  of  1880,  after  the  return  of  the  Govern- 
ment from  London.  Donald  A.  Smith  had  ceased  to 
be  a  Member  of  the  House.  The  Court  of  Final  Appeal 
for  Election  Petitions  had  rendered  judgment.  At 
the  opening  of  the  session  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons  announced  that  he  had  received  a  notice 
from  the  Registrar  of  the  Supreme  Court  that  a 
decision  had  been  rendered  by  that  tribunal  in  the 
following  terms — 

"  And  in  the  Appeal  of  David  Young  and 
Archibald  Wright,  Appellants,  and  Donald 
Alexander  Smith,  Respondent,  in  the  matter  of 
the  Selkirk  Election,  by  which  the  said  appeal 
was  allowed,  and  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Justice 
Betourney,  that  the  said  Election  was  valid,  was 
reversed,  and  the  Election  was  declared  void."  * 

A  writ  was  accordingly  issued  for  a  new  election 
in  Selkirk,  and  Donald  A.  Smith's  successor  took  his 
seat  as  a  supporter  of  the  Government. 

The  announcement  had  been  made  by  the  Prime 
Minister  that  a  contract  had  been  entered  into  between 
the  Government  and  a  syndicate  for  the  construction 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  It  is  putting  it 
mildly  to  say  that  the  country  was  startled  by  the 
announcement,  as  the  idea  that  the  highway  was  to 
be  retained  as  a  national  asset  had  been  considered 
settled.  Until  the  official  statement  by  the  First 
Minister   the   general   public   had   not   received   the 

1  Appendix,  5. 


126  LORD   STRATHCONA 

slightest  intimation  of  the  important  change  in  public 
policy  that  had  been  unanimously  accepted  and 
approved  by  the  recent  Parliament.  As  soon  as  the 
formal  proceedings  connected  with  the  opening  of 
Parliament  were  disposed  of,  the  contract  entered  into 
with  the  syndicate  was  placed  on  the  table  of  the 
House.  When  the  terms  became  known,  astonishment 
gave  place  to  dismay  throughout  the  country. 

The  agreement  provided  for  a  subsidy  of  $25,000,000 
(£5,000,000),  a  land  grant  of  25,000,000  acres,  the 
completion  and  possession  of  all  the  portions  of  the 
railway  then  under  contract  to  cost  $30,000,000 
(£6,000,000),  an  absolute  railway  monopoly  in  the 
western  territory  for  twenty  years,  free  right  of  way 
through  Government  lands,  exemption  from  taxation 
for  all  time  upon  their  property  in  the  new  western 
municipalities,  freedom  from  taxation  for  an  extended 
period  upon  their  land  grants,  the  land  grant  to  be 
selected  at  the  convenience  of  the  Company  through- 
out the  fertile  belt,  and  extraordinary  authority  over 
passenger  and  goods  rates.  Even  to  the  railway 
promoters  in  the  United  States,  accustomed  to  the 
most  liberal  terms  as  the  result  of  corruption  and 
lobbying  in  the  legislative  chambers  of  that  country, 
the  lavish  terms  of  this  agreement  came  as  a  surprise. 

An  equally  strong  syndicate  offered  to  take  the 
contract  for  much  less.  But  the  subject  immediately 
assumed  a  party  aspect,  and  there  was  no  question  but 
that  Parliament  would  ratify  anything  the  Govern- 
ment proposed.     Regrets  were  expressed  that  even 


LIGHT  HIDDEN  UNDER  A  BUSHEL      127 

the  corrupt  bargain  with  Sir  Hugh  Allan  had  not 
been  carried  out,  as  in  that  agreement  no  such  favour- 
able terms  to  the  contractor  had  been  given,  or  such 
sacrifice  of  Canadian  interests  been  made.1  It  was 
feared  that  means  similar  to  those  connected  with  the 
deal  in  1872  had  been  taken  to  secure  the  present 
arrangement,  but  no  encouragement  was  offered  on 
this  occasion,  as  on  the  former,  for  information  to 
leak  out  leading  to  scandalous  revelations.  Some  of 
those  interested  in  this  contract  knew  only  too  well 
how  Sir  Hugh's  confidences  had  been  betrayed,  and 
they  left  no  loopholes  for  a  similar  disaster  in  their 
case. 

Objection  could  not  be  taken  to  the  financial 
standing  on  the  syndicate,  as  revealed  by  the  contract. 
From  the  political  standpoint  Liberals  were  well  aware 
that  two  of  the  Company  had  been  their  own  sup- 
porters in  recent  elections.  This  rather  gave  colour 
to  the  impression  that  means  had  been  found,  other 
than  the  public  might  approve,  to  reconcile  the  Tory 
leaders  to  a  deal  of  such  magnitude  with  their  political 
opponents.  It  was  well  known  that  the  Canadian  and 
United  States  members  of  the  syndicate  were  all  most 
intimate  personal  and  financial  friends  of  Donald 
A.  Smith.  Surprise  would  not  have  been  expressed 
at  finding  him,  also,  in  this  great  financial  deal. 

But  the  hatred  of  the  Tory  leaders  towards  Donald 
A.  Smith  made  it  apparently  impossible  that  he  should 
be  in  the  syndicate.     The  Premier  gave  an  assurance 

1  Appendix,  10. 


128  LORD   STRATHCONA 

to  his  supporters  that  Donald  A.  was  not  one  of  the 
capitalists  connected  with  the  agreement.  Notwith- 
standing the  denials  in  private  circles,  the  Opposition 
declined  to  believe  that  Donald  A.  Smith  was  not  a 
sleeping  partner.  Veiled  references  were  made  from 
the  Opposition  Benches  to  the  possibility  of  Donald 
A.  being  behind  the  scenes,  and  extracts  from  the 
Hansard  of  1878  were  read  as  a  reminder  to  the 
Government  of  the  view  so  recently  held  by  them  of 
the  possible  personnel  of  the  syndicate.  Supporters 
of  the  Government  in  the  House  were  told  that  Sir 
John  said  if  Donald  A.  Smith  had  anything  to  do 
with  the  agreement  he  would  consign  the  project  to 
the  four  winds  of  heaven.  To  Sir  John  Macdonald 
Donald  A.  was  Anathema  Maran-atha.  The  Govern- 
ment at  that  time,  judging  from  later  revelations,  was 
not  in  the  position  of  a  free  agent.  The  money  had 
been  accepted  in  the  recent  campaign  upon  clearly 
defined  terms.  Had  it  all  come  from  absolutely 
trustworthy  and  confidential  sources,  the  secret  under- 
standing might  be  flouted.  But  the  amounts  were  too 
large  to  be  advanced  by  other  than  a  very  wealthy 
syndicate,  and  it  was  in  their  power  to  bring  dire 
destruction  upon  all  concerned.  Both  the  syndicate 
and  those  in  authority  knew  this. 

The  contract  finally  passed  Parliament  in  the  form 

in  which  it  had  been  submitted.     But  before  that 

point  was  reached  some  very  unpalatable  things  were 

said   by  responsible  statesmen,1  and   special   arrange- 

1  Appendix,  14. 


VIOLENT  DENUNCIATION   OF   CONTRACT  129 

ments  had  also  to  be  made  with  the  supporters  of  the 
Government  from  the  province  of  Quebec.  In  the 
latter  case  a  pledge  was  given  that  either  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  or  the  Government,  would  purchase 
from  Quebec  a  railway  upon  which  the  province  had 
unwisely  expended  about  $12,000,000  (^2,400,000), 
In  summing  up  the  objections  of  the  Opposition  to 
the  contract,  the  Hon.  Edward  Blake  challenged  the 
Government  to  appeal  to  the  country  upon  the 
proposals  before  the  House,  asserting  that  if  it  was 
done  the  responsible  electorate — 

"  will  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to  inflict  a 
summary  penalty  upon  those  persons,  offenders 
for  the  second  time,  who  having  once  betrayed, 
when  entrusted  with  power,  their  country's 
honour,  have  now  taken  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity a  too  confiding  public  conferred  upon 
them,  to  betray  in  the  same  transaction  her  most 
vital  and  material  interests." 

The  charter-hunters  had  at  last  found  the  desires 
of  their  hearts  fulfilled.  They  had  secured  the  most 
stupendous  contract  ever  made  under  responsible 
Government  in  the  history  of  the  world.  It  might 
be  true  that  the  conduct  necessary  to  secure  the  goal 
had  been  such  as  is  not  usually  adopted  in  private 
life.  But  the  hope  of  the  company  or  syndicate 
undoubtedly  was  that  in  the  future  they  might,  like 
the  Greeks,  pacify  the  gods  by  gifts. 


130  LORD   STRATHCONA 

To  attain  their  end  the  syndicate  had  broken 
political  and  personal  relationships  that  could  never 
be  repaired.  Two  Governments  had  been  wrecked. 
They  had  assisted  in  discrediting  one  political  leader 
through  their  denunciation  of  the  part  he  had  been 
saddled  with  in  connection  with  the  Pacific  scandal. 
They  were  now  laying  the  foundation  for  the  utter 
demoralization  of  the  public  life  of  a  great  new 
country,  and  burdening  Parliament  with  objectionable 
associations  which  were  to  remain  after  they  them- 
selves had  disappeared.  They  had  assisted  in  re- 
moving from  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  a  demo- 
cratic people  an  honourable,  high-minded  and  patriotic 
statesman  because  he  had  declined  to  allow  Parliament 
to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  creating  enormous 
private  fortunes  at  the  public  expense.  They  had 
stopped  at  nothing,  and  they  had  succeeded. 

George  Stephen  and  Duncan  Mclntyre  of 
Montreal ;  John  S.  Kennedy  of  New  York,  banker ; 
Morton,  Rose  &  Co.  of  London,  England,  merchants ; 
Kohn,  Reinach  &  Co.,  Paris,  bankers ;  and  Richard 
B.  Angus  and  J.  J.  Hill  of  St.  Paul,  U.S.A.,  were  in- 
corporated as  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company. 
In  the  list  of  the  first  directors  of  the  Company, 
Baron  de  Reinach  represented  his  banking  house,  and 
Henry  Stafford  Northcote  and  Charles  Day  Rose  the 
London  banking  house,  the  others  being  the  individual 
names  mentioned  in  the  Act  of  Incorporation.  The 
secrecy  about  Donald  A.  Smith's  connection  with  the 
syndicate  was  kept  until  every  possible  concession  had 


THE   POLITICAL  CHAMELEON  131 

been  granted.  Meanwhile,  he  was  willing  to  wait  for 
the  triumph  so  sure  to  come  later. 

Donald  A.  Smith  had  smarted  under  the  humiliation 
of  the  decision  of  the  court  which  deprived  him  of 
his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Now  came  his 
secret  connection  with  a  project  that  had  become  the 
dream  of  his  life.  He  knew,  unless  his  plans  failed 
in  the  next  few  months,  that  he  would  eventually 
be  acknowledged  as  the  master-mind  of  the  enter- 
prise ;  and  the  announcement  of  his  connection  with 
the  great  project  was  not  long  withheld.  At  the 
recent  bye-election  in  Selkirk  (1880)  he  was  again  a 
candidate  for  Parliament.  In  1872  he  ran  as  a  sup- 
porter of  the  Tory  party — in  1874  anc^  J^7^  ne  was 
supporting  the  Liberals — and  in  1880  he  professed 
political  independence.  But  such  political  vagaries 
were  too  much  for  even  the  shifting  population  of 
the  west,  and  he  was  defeated  by  a  strong  local 
candidate. 

In  the  effort  to  overcome  the  popularity  of  the 
other  candidate  it  had  been  necessary  to  have  recourse 
to  a  banking-account  specially  opened  for  the  purpose. 
Money  was  expended  freely.  When  the  result  of  the 
polling  was  declared  a  few  faithful  adherents  gathered 
at  the  committee  rooms  of  the  defeated  candidate. 
In  explaining  to  Donald  A.  that  nothing  had  been  left 
undone  to  ensure  success,  the  secretary  expressed 
himself  in  the  most  forcible  and  up-to-date  western 

style  :    "  Donald  A.,  the voters  have  taken  your 

money  and  voted  against  you."     All  eyes  were  turned 


132  LORD   STRATHCONA 

to  the  unsuccessful  candidate  to  see  whether  he  was 
willing  to  take  this  explanation  of  his  defeat,  and  the 
quiet  reply  came,  as  if  he  was  speaking  to  himself  : 
"  You  have  properly  expressed  the  situation."  Winni- 
peg was  never  anything  but  a  bitter  memory  to  Lord 
Strathcona  from  that  day. 

Some  miles  out  from  Winnipeg  he  had  a  charming 
residence,  known  as  Silver  Heights.  In  the  years  to 
come,  as  the  construction  of  the  railway  progressed,  it 
might  be  necessary  to  entertain  visitors  on  a  fairly 
large  scale  there.  But  rather  than  go  through  Winni- 
peg to  his  residence  the  company  constructed  a 
railway  siding  off  the  main  line,  so  that  his  private  car 
could  be  run  to  Silver  Heights  without  entering  the 
city. 

Donald  A.  Smith  was  as  punctilious  about  paying 
off  personal  scores  as  in  paying  his  debts.  He  never 
failed  with  either.  In  the  future,  Winnipeg's  action 
was  not  to  be  forgotten ! 


XIII 

Amassing  great  wealth — The  skeleton  in  the  cupboard — Facing 
sudden  ruin — Failure  to  sell  bonds — Applying  for  assistance— 
The  penalty  for  deception — The  Cabinet  refusal. 

Meanwhile,  the  construction  of  the  great  railway 
was  being  carried  on  apace.  The  active  membership 
of  the  Company,  like  that  of  the  syndicate,  was 
limited  to  a  chosen  few,  and  Donald  A.  Smith's 
connection  was  no  longer  kept  in  the  background. 
He  was  the  great  controlling  spirit  in  all  the  prin- 
cipal business  of  the  syndicate.  Within  the  charmed 
circle  construction-companies,  purchasing-agencies  and 
land-companies  were  formed.  Properties  required 
in  the  west  by  the  Railway  were  sold  by  directors 
to  the  great  corporation  at  exorbitant  valuations,  as 
a  recent  departmental  inquiry  has  abundantly  proved. 
From  every  possible  source  those  in  the  inner  ring 
never  failed  to  provide  for  the  promotion  of  their 
own  financial  interests.  Their  wealth  soon  became 
proverbial.  Each  vied  with  the  other  in  the  erection 
of  palatial  residences. 

But  with  all  their  apparent  prosperity,  there  was 
a  skeleton  in  the  cupboard.  The  syndicate  had 
apportioned  to  themselves  large  blocks  of  the  stock  of 
the  Company  at   a  very  low  rate,   and  they  were 

i33 


134  LORD   STRATHCONA 

unable  to  get  the  investing  public  in  Europe  or  the 
United  States  to  accept  the  stock  or  bonds  of  the 
Company.  It  was  not  so  much  from  a  want  of 
confidence  in  the  value  of  the  securities  as  for  other 
reasons.  A  vivid  recollection  still  existed  in  the 
principal  financial  markets  of  the  incidents  connected 
with  the  purchase  of  the  Western  United  States 
Railway.  The  Dutch  banking-houses  which  had  lost 
their  millions  through  the  sale  of  their  bonds  to  the 
Canadian  syndicate,  warned  financial  centres  against 
dealing  with  the  Canadian  Pacific  syndicate,  and  their 
efforts  were  apparently  successful. 

As  the  principal  members  of  the  syndicate  were 
also  directors  of  the  great  banking  institution  of 
Montreal,  they  had  recourse  again  to  the  funds  under 
their  control.  The  deal  with  Jesse  P.  Farley  and  the 
Dutch  bondholders,  although  directly  so  profitable, 
had  indirectly  led  to  the  present  situation.  The  failure 
to  realize  on  the  stock  or  bonds  of  the  Company  made 
this  necessary,  notwithstanding  the  narrow  escape 
from  the  financial  catastrophe  that  threatened  them 
twelve  years  previously.  Time  went  on  and  still  the 
railway  securities  could  not  find  a  favourable  market. 
The  stock  could  only  be  disposed  of  at  ridiculously 
low  figures.  Little  did  the  investing  public  realize 
the  value  of  what  they  were  then  refusing ! 

More  money  had  to  be  borrowed  from  the  Bank 
in  order  to  carry  on  the  work  of  the  Company.  The 
ever-increasing  demands  of  the  Construction  Com- 
pany  had   to   be   met   at  all  hazards.     To   suspend 


THE   GOVERNMENT   OR   PRISON  135 

payment  meant  absolute  and  hopeless  ruin.  Not 
only  would  such  a  result  jeopardize  them  personally, 
but  it  might  bring  serious  consequences  upon  the 
bank.  By  this  time  an  amount  far  in  excess  of  the 
paid-up  capital  had  been  advanced.  The  only  mem- 
ber of  the  syndicate  who  never  became  pessimistic, 
or  who  never  lost  his  nerve,  was  Donald  A.  Smith. 
The  general  manager  of  the  bank,  although  he  was 
an  official  appointed  by  the  directors,  became  alarmed 
for  his  own  safety,  and,  when  a  further  sum  was 
needed,  he  refused  to  allow  it  to  be  taken  without 
additional  security  being  lodged  in  the  bank  vaults. 

The  directors  had  already  given  the  bank  all  the 
securities  they  possessed.  A  time  came  when  they 
had  to  have  $1,000,000  dollars  (£200,000)  or  suspend 
payment.  They  dare  not  go  to  any  other  bank  for 
fear  of  creating  uneasiness  and  probably  panic.  The 
risks  which  had  been  taken  on  the  previous  occasion 
had  not  been  forgotten.  The  late  Duncan  Mclntyre, 
one  of  the  syndicate,  was  persuaded  to  go  among  his 
friends  and  get  possession  of  sufficient  collaterals  to 
justify  the  loan  of  the  amount  that  was  needed.  As 
he  laid  them  on  the  table  at  a  meeting  of  the  directors, 
he  said,  with  a  trembling  voice  :  "  Remember,  if  these 
are  lost,  not  only  am  I  ruined,  but  I  shall  bring  down 
with  me  every  friend  I  have."  There  was  nothing 
to  do  now  but  to  apply  to  the  Government  at  Ottawa 
to  come  to  their  assistance.  If  that  should  fail  there 
was  ruin  or  worse  for  everyone  connected  with  the 
enterprise.     As  Lord  Strathcona,  in  later  years,  not 


136  LORD   STRATHCONA 

infrequently  referred  to  the  position  :  "  It  is  to  the 
Government  or  the  Penitentiary."  It  was  decided 
that  one  of  the  original  syndicate,  accompanied  by 
Sir  J.  J.  C.  Abbott,  the  solicitor  of  the  Company, 
should  go  to  Ottawa  and  see  what  could  be  done  with 
the  Government. 

Sir  John  Macdonald  was  still  First  Minister.  He 
was  then  secretly  preparing  to  dissolve  Parliament 
before  the  end  of  its  full  term,  although  only  a  few 
trusted  friends  were  aware  of  his  purpose.  The 
syndicate  had  pushed  on  the  construction  of  the 
Railway,  so  that  it  was  likely  to  be  completed  five 
years  earlier  than  the  date  stipulated  in  the  contract. 
They  had  not  failed  in  responding  to  the  appeals  of 
the  Tory  party  for  contributions,  and  amounts 
hitherto  unheard  of  in  Canadian  elections  rolled  into 
the  campaign  coffers.  They  had  turned  the  whole 
machinery  of  the  railway  and  of  its  contractors  into 
Tory  electioneering  agencies.  They  had  not  hesitated 
to  use  every  possible  form  of  corrupt  influence  to 
drive  out  of  public  life  every  opponent  of  the  syndi- 
cate, and  these  were,  naturally  enough,  opposed  to 
the  Government  of  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald.  It  is 
no  exaggeration  to  say  that  Parliament  had  become 
the  subservient  creature  of  the  syndicate,  and,  a  priori, 
the  Government  owed  to  the  syndicate  its  retention 
of  power. 

But  the  representatives  of  the  syndicate,  who  were 
selected  to  interview  the  Premier  on  the  vital  question 
at  issue,  could  not  forget  that  a  solemn  assurance  had 


UNRELENTING  VENGEANCE  137 

been  given  to  Sir  John  Macdonald,  when  the  original 
negotiations  were  in  progress,  that  Donald  A.  Smith 
was  not  interested  in  the  undertaking.  They  remem- 
bered his  searching  inquiries  on  that  point.  The 
little  girl,  with  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  Bible, 
who  said  that  "  lies  were  an  abomination  to  the  Lord," 
and  then  added  "  but  a  very  present  help  in  time  of 
need,"  expressed  the  views  of  this  deputation  exactly. 
Sir  J.  J.  C.  Abbott  and  his  colleague  knew  that  society 
will  forgive  almost  every  human  weakness  against 
public  morals,  except  downright  lying.  This  is 
recognized  nowhere  more  clearly  than  amongst  poli- 
ticians, and  Sir  John  Macdonald  was  no  exception  to 
the  rule.  It  was  the  ghost  of  that  misrepresentation 
to  the  Premier  that  now  haunted  them  on  their  way  to 
the  capital. 

Sir  John  Macdonald  had  a  reputation  for  never 
forgiving  one  whom  he  once  regarded  as  having 
betrayed  him.  He  claimed  to  have  Highland  blood 
in  his  veins.  Every  one  knew  that  he  had  not  ceased 
to  express  his  views  with  remarkable  clearness  on  the 
score  of  Donald  A.  Smith's  desertion  in  the  great  crisis 
of  his  life  in  1873.  It  was  well  known  now  that  he 
had  been  deceived  in  the  early  negotiations,  and  that 
Donald  A.  was  not  only  then  actually  in  the  syndicate, 
but  he  was  the  mainspring  of  its  existence.  The 
reception  that  Stephen  and  Abbott  received  from 
Sir  John  Macdonald  was  even  worse  than  they  had 
feared.  At  the  beginning  he  asked  for  a  full  expla- 
nation.    The  deputation  had  to  admit  that  Donald  A. 


138  LORD   STRATHCONA 

had  been  with  the  syndicate  from  the  beginning. 
They  told  the  Prime  Minister  that  they  were  com- 
pelled to  ask  for  Government  assistance  to  complete 
their  work,  explaining  how  the  money  market  had  been 
against  them.  At  first  he  emphatically  refused  to 
consider  their  request,  alleging  that  such  action  on 
the  part  of  the  Government  would  meet  with  active 
opposition  in  the  elections  that  were  soon  to  take 
place.  They  pointed  out  that  the  stoppage  of  the 
work  on  the  great  railway,  their  own  ruin,  and  the 
serious  consequences  in  banking  circles,  would  pre- 
cipitate such  a  crisis  as  would  bring  down  the  Gov- 
ernment anyway,  all  of  which  might  be  avoided  if 
Parliament  would  assist  them  temporarily ;  and  they 
told  the  Premier  that  a  loan  of  not  less  than 
$30,000,000  (£6,000,000)  was  necessary.1  After  much 
persuasion  Sir  John  would  only  agree  to  state  the 
case  to  the  Cabinet  that  afternoon,  promising  to 
abide  by  the  decision  of  his  colleagues.  Abbott  im- 
mediately returned  to  Montreal,  while  his  colleague 
remained  in  Ottawa. 

When  the  Cabinet  meeting  was  concluded  that 
afternoon,  George  Stephen  was  in  the  ante-room  of 
the  Privy  Council  awaiting  the  decision.  As  members 
of  the  Government  came  out,  the  Canadian  Pacific 
magnate  knew  from  their  manner  that  an  adverse 
decision  had  been  reached.  He  accompanied  the 
Premier  to  his  private  office  to  hear  the  account  of 
what  had  taken  place.  Sir  John  told  him  that  he 
1  Appendix,  11. 


AN  UNFORGIVEN  OFFENCE  139 

had  briefly  outlined  the  situation  to  his  colleagues, 
leaving  the  matter  entirely  open  to  them,  without 
expressing  his  own  views.  There  was  some  time 
spent  in  considering  the  merits  of  the  case,  and  the 
possibilities  to  the  country  of  their  failure.  The 
principal  subject  under  discussion,  though,  was  Donald 
A.  Smith's  connection  with  the  exposure  of  1873,  and 
his  desertion  of  the  Tory  party  on  that  occasion — 
the  withdrawal  of  his  support  from  the  Government, 
Sir  John  declared,  being  prompted  by  the  hope  of 
personal  benefit  through  their  downfall.  When  he  failed 
to  accomplish  his  purpose  with  the  Mackenzie  Cabinet, 
he  succeeded  in  using  the  present  Government  as  his 
unconscious  tools  to  attain  his  object.  Sir  John  told 
Mr.  Stephen  that  he  could  hold  out  no  hope  whatever 
of  the  request  for  a  loan  being  granted — the  desperate 
condition  of  the  members  of  the  syndicate  did  not 
appeal  to  his  colleagues  under  the  circumstances. 


XIV 

Staggering  under  the  load — An  Irishman  to  the  rescue — Frank  Smith 
and  his  colleagues — Cabinet ,  discussion — George  Stephen's  re- 
morse— A  Scotchman's  revenge — The  bitter  cup. 

It  was  a  weary  figure,  with  the  face  of  a  man  suddenly 
aged  under  stress  of  the  most  severe  mental  anguish, 
who  was  leaving  Ottawa  that  evening  for  Montreal.  A 
member  of  the  Cabinet,  Hon.  Frank  Smith,  who  had 
evidently  hurried  to  the  station  to  see  him,  walked  up 
quickly  and  said,  "  Is  that  you,  Stephen  ?  I  have 
been  looking  for  you  and  I  did  not  recognize  you.  I 
am  going  to  help  you.  You  must  remain  here  three 
days."  Stephen  replied  that  nothing  would  induce 
him  to  remain,  and  that  he  "  would  never  be  seen 
in  Ottawa  again."  Frank  Smith's  persuasiveness  pre- 
vailed, and  Stephen  returned  to  private  quarters 
where  he  would  be  free  from  the  risk  of  being  seen 
by  inquisitive  reporters.  Smith  assured  Stephen  that 
he  would  bring  the  matter  up  in  the  Cabinet  at  the 
next  meeting,  as  he  hoped  that  the  decision  which 
had  been  arrived  at  that  day  would  be  reversed.  A 
trusted  Canadian  Pacific  official,  Mr.  G.  H.  Campbell, 
who  happened  to  be  at  Ottawa  at  the  time,  was 
asked  by  Frank  Smith  to  stay  with  Stephen,  and  not 

to  allow  anyone  to  have  access  to  him.     Many  years 

140 


THE   PANGS  OF  ANXIETY  141 

afterwards  Mr.  Campbell  told  the  writer  that  these 
three  days  were  among  the  most  anxious  of  his  whole 
life.  He  was  the  constant  companion  of  a  man  torn 
with  anguish  and  remorse,  whose  heart  seemed  breaking 
with  compassion  for  the  friends  whose  downfall  he 
felt  himself  responsible  for,  and  with  fear  of  the  all- 
too-probable  failure  of  Frank  Smith's  valiant  efforts 
to  save  an  almost  ruined  situation. 

George  Stephen  was  Donald  A.  Smith's  cousin. 
This  was  the  first  set-back  met  with  in  his  long  and 
successful  career.  He,  like  Donald  A.,  had  risen 
from  the  ranks.  From  small  beginnings,  by  industry 
and  steadfastness,  he  had  become  one  of  the  great 
financial  forces  in  Canadian  commercial  life.  He  was 
wealthy,  as  wealth  was  counted  in  Canada  forty  years 
ago,  ere  he  had  ventured  on  that  expansive  sea  of 
railway  speculation  with  Donald  A.  Smith  and  J.  J. 
Hill  at  the  helm.  He  had  profited  to  the  extent  of 
millions  with  his  colleagues  in  the  American  railway 
venture  as  the  outcome  of  the  fifty  million  gulden 
which  the  Dutch  bondholders  had  lost.  The  only  fly 
in  that  pot  of  ointment  was  the  fact  that  a  suit  was 
being  threatened  in  the  Minnesota  courts  by  Jesse  P. 
Farley,  the  Official  Receiver  of  the  railway.  Farley 
was  knocking  at  the  door  for  one-fifth  of  the  profits 
which  he  claimed  the  Company  held  in  trust  for  him, 
and  he  claimed  that  it  was  in  George  Stephen's  name 
that  the  odd  one-fifth  was  placed  at  the  time  of  the 
transaction.  That  there  would  be  serious  allegations 
made  by  Farley  in  the  courts  there  was  no  question, 


U2  LORD   STRATHCONA 

although  there  might  be  some  doubt  as  to  whether  he 
would  succeed  with  his  claim.  The  allegations,  how- 
ever, would  be  damaging  to  the  reputation  of  all  the 
persons  concerned.  But  the  recollection  of  anything 
that  might  have  occurred  in  the  early  history  of  railway 
speculation  gave  place  to  the  critical  complications  of 
the  present  moment.  Unless  the  advances  the  directors 
had  authorized  the  general  manager  of  the  bank  to  make 
to  the  syndicate  could  be  returned  by  the  aid  of  a 
Government  loan,  long  and  honourable  careers  might 
.  .  .  Oh,  it  was  worse  than  madness  to  look  into  the 
future  !     Would  the  Cabinet  relent  ? 

Hon.  Frank  Smith  was  the  representative  Roman 
Catholic  in  the  Dominion.  He  held  a  seat  in  the 
Cabinet  without  portfolio.  Very  large  financial  inter- 
ests engrossed  his  attention,  and  he  had  declined  to 
accept  the  responsibilities  attached  to  a  department. 
He  possessed  the  highest  standard  of  personal  honour, 
and  was  blessed  with  that  large-hearted  Irish  char- 
acteristic of  sympathy  for  friends  and  foes  alike.  He 
could  take  greater  liberty  with  the  Premier  than  any 
other  of  the  latter's  colleagues.  In  the  Church  he 
exercised  an  influence  with  the  clergy  unequalled  by 
any  score  of  persons  in  his  own  province,  and  the 
clergy  were,  rightly  or  otherwise,  credited  with  having 
considerable  political  influence  with  their  parishioners. 
It  was  believed  by  Sir  John  Macdonald  that  Frank 
Smith's  influence  with  his  co-religionists  was  so  great 
that  a  word  from  him  would  bring  about  great  changes 
in   the  Catholic  vote.     He  might   be  charged  with 


WARM-HEARTED   IRISHMAN  143 

holding  peculiar  political  views,  because  he  is  known 
to  have  subscribed  towards  the  election  expenses  of 
a  political  opponent.  This,  however,  was  only  when 
the  candidate  whom  he  favoured  belonged  "  to  the 
true  Church,"  or  when  the  one  whom  he  did  not 
want  to  see  elected  belonged  to  that  extreme  wing 
of  Protestantism  known  as  the  Orange  Order.  He 
was  immensely  wealthy,  but  no  part  of  his  wealth  had 
been  secured  by  influences  unduly  exercised  in  the 
responsible  positions  of  confidence  or  trust  which  he 
had  occupied  in  public  life.  He  belonged  essentially 
to  the  old  school  of  Canadian  statesmen. 

Hon.  Frank  Smith  made  good  the  promise  that  he 
gave  to  George  Stephen.  For  three  consecutive  days 
he  brought  up  the  question  in  the  Cabinet  of  the 
Government  assisting  the  Syndicate.  Twice  he  was 
compelled  to  return  to  Stephen  with  the  discouraging 
news  that  nothing  had  been  accomplished.  After 
the  members  of  the  Government  had  discussed  the 
proposition  on  the  third  day,  Smith  announced  that, 
unless  his  colleagues  accepted  his  views  and  came  to 
the  rescue  of  the  Syndicate,  he  would  resign  his  seat  in 
the  Cabinet.  He  also  added  that  he  would  not  with- 
draw his  opposition  to  the  Government  until  he  had 
accomplished  the  defeat  of  those  who  were  then 
sitting  with  him  around  the  Privy  Council  Board. 
Before  retiring  he  said  that  he  would  wait  their 
decision,  and  that  if  they  determined  to  continue  in 
their  opposition,  he  would  announce  his  resignation 
that  evening.     The  Cabinet  knew  that  with  Frank 


144  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Smith's  influence  thrown  against  them  their  defeat 
was  more  than  probable.  Shortly  after  sunset  Frank 
Smith  rushed  to  George  Stephen  and  told  him  that 
the  cause  was  won. 

But  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Government  supporters 
in  Parliament  had  yet  to  be  pacified.  A  caucus  or 
meeting  of  the  members  and  senators  was  called, 
where  the  decision  of  the  Government  was  announced. 
The  number  of  those  opposed  to  the  proposition  was 
unprecedented  upon  a  question  of  Government  policy. 
The  members  were  willing  to  assist  the  syndicate, 
"  but  not  Donald  A."  For  long  the  discussion  waxed 
hot  and  furious.  Speaker  after  speaker  pictured  the 
"  treachery  of  1873."  They  declared  they  would  go 
out  of  power  (and  power  is  dear  to  the  heart  of  both 
political  parties  in  Canada)  rather  than  give  their 
consent  to  any  policy  that  would  save  Donald  A.  Smith 
from  the  pit  which  he  had  so  fearlessly  dug  for  himself 
and  his  friends.  Many  of  the  members  of  that  caucus 
forgot  for  the  moment  that  it  was  the  money  of  the 
syndicate  that  had  made  their  campaign  successful 
in  1878,  even  when  Donald  A.  Smith  was  contesting 
a  constituency  as  a  supporter  of  the  Government  of 
Alexander  Mackenzie ;  that  at  every  election  since 
the  syndicate  had  poured  out  money  like  water  to 
meet  their  party  demands ;  that  a  number  of  those 
present,  large  enough  to  give  the  majority  necessary 
to  keep  them  in  power,  occupied  seats  in  Parliament 
solely  because  the  great  influence  of  the  Company 
had  been  exerted  in  their  favour ;  and,  more  humili- 
ating from  the  national  standpoint    than   all   other 


PAYING   THE   PIPER  145 

considerations,  not  a  few  were  sitting  there  with  the 
money  in  their  pockets  that  they  had  "  borrowed  " 
in  some  form  or  another  from  members  of  the  syndi- 
cate, with  no  thought  of  returning ;  and  this  magnate 
whom  they  were  so  strenuously  denouncing,  had 
contributed  a  goodly  share  towards  these  "  loans." 
However,  after  blowing  off  steam,  a  safety  valve  for 
indignation,  calmer  counsels  eventually  prevailed,  but 
not  until  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  had  promised  that 
some  way  would  be  found  to  humiliate  Donald  A. 
Smith  before  the  final  settlement  of  the  question. 

Sir  Charles  Tupper,  the  most  powerful  speaker  in 
the  Government,  was  about  to  be  appointed  High 
Commissioner  in  London  at  the  beginning  of  these 
complications,  but  he  remained  in  the  Cabinet  to 
assist  in  keeping  the  recalcitrant  Tories  in  line.  His 
presence  in  the  House  was  also  necessary,  where,  it 
was  expected,  the  Opposition  would  muster  in  strong 
force  against  the  Government  proposals.  The  passage 
of  the  loan  was  finally  effected,  but  not  until  certain 
members  of  the  House  had  made  their  own  terms 
with  the  syndicate.  Largess  was  distributed  with  a 
bountiful  hand.  Common  stock  of  the  Company 
was  placed  in  trust  with  friends  in  the  United  States 
for  very  prominent  politicians  in  Ottawa,  a  fact  which 
came  to  light  in  later  years,  when  Wills  had  to  be 
probated.  A  necklace  was  presented  to  the  wife  of 
the  Prime  Minister,  the  Press  ostentatiously  announcing 
the  cost  to  be  $200,000  (£40,000).  Rumours  were 
circulated  of  large  sums  of  money  being  found  by  other 
members  to  their  credit  in  their  banking  accounts, 


146  LORD   STRATHCONA 

with  no  intimation  as  to  the  identity  of  the  donor. 
Duncan  Mclntyre,  who  retired  from  the  syndicate 
a  few  years  afterwards,  remarked  to  friends  on  one 
occasion,  that  the  loan  was  an  expensive  luxury, 
although  it  had  saved  the  fortunes  of  all  concerned, 
and  had  averted  a  commercial  calamity. 

Previous  to  the  legislation  reaching  the  last  stage 
however,  Sir  John  Macdonald  had  decided  upon  the 
ingredients  in  the  cup  of  humiliation  to  be  taken  by 
Donald  A.  Smith.     During  part  of  the  time  which 
had  elapsed   since  the  syndicate  secured  the  charter 
for  the  construction  of  the  railway,  Donald  A.  had 
posed   as   an   Independent   Conservative,    but   really 
with    no    pronounced    political   opinions.     He   never 
had  the  settled  convictions  on  public  questions  that 
are  regarded  as  essential  under  responsible  Govern- 
ment.    Political    predilections    are    strong    in    Great 
Britain,  and  nowhere  is  this  more  evident  than  in  the 
Press,  but  they  are  much  more  pronounced  in  Canada. 
The  political  stream  there  is  far  from  sluggish.     In 
every  condition  in  life — financial,  professional,  com- 
mercial,    manufacturing,    agricultural,    labour,     and 
unfortunately    too    frequently    in    clerical    circles — 
politics   have   a   powerful   hold   on   the   community. 
"  The  man  in  the  street  "  is  everywhere.     Ninety-nine 
per  cent,  of  the  people  are  politicians.     Donald  A. 
Smith  was  peculiar  even  among  the  remaining  one 
per  cent.     Perhaps  this  attitude  on  public  questions 
and  party  government  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  he 
only  entered  the  political  arena  after  he  had  passed 
middle  life.     But  his  attitude  remains  unique.     Of  no 


A   HIGHLANDER'S   REVENGE  147 

other  public  character  in  Canada  can  it  be  said  that 
he  supported  every  Government  in  power  in  the 
Dominion  since  Confederation.  All  the  intrigues  of 
the  syndicate  to  defeat  the  Liberal  candidates  through- 
out the  Dominion  grew  and  waxed  strong  because 
the  Tory  Government  was  always  willing  to  assist  in 
any  legislation  they  required  ;  while  the  Liberal  party 
was  opposed  to  the  extensive  privileges  and  powers 
conferred  upon  them,  and  which  were  being  con- 
stantly augmented  by  repeated  acts  of  legislation. 
Above  all  else  the  Liberal  leader  warned  the  State  of 
the  danger  of  the  syndicate  becoming  too  potent  a 
factor  in  the  political  life  of  Canada. 

The  syndicate  heard  with  dismay  that  Sir  John 
Macdonald  insisted,  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  the 
loan,  that  Donald  A.  Smith  should  contest  a  Montreal 
constituency  at  a  future  election,  not  only  as  a  Govern- 
ment supporter,  but  a  personal  admirer  of  his  own. 
It  was  an  awful  dose.  To  be  asked,  or  rather  com- 
pelled formally  to  declare  unbounded  confidence  in 
the  political  leader  whom  he  had  publicly  abandoned 
in  1873,  to  express  his  personal  admiration  for  the 
leader  of  that  Parliamentary  mob  which  had  thrown 
such  offensive  epithets  at  him  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons years  ago,  and  who  himself  had  deliberately 
shouted,  "  That  fellow  Smith  is  the  greatest  liar  I 
ever  met,"  a  complete  record  of  which  still  exists  in 
the  pages  of  Hansard1 — was  indeed  drinking  the  cup 
of  humiliation  to  the  dregs.  He  also  knew  that  he 
must  publicly  abjure  friendship  with  those  who  had 

1  Appendix,  4. 


148  LORD   STRATHCONA 

been  his  only  friends  on  the  occasion  of  the  incident 
which  was  really  the  cause  of  the  suffering  he  was 
now  doomed  to  undergo.  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald 
was  growing  old,  although  apparently  as  strong  and 
healthy  as  ever.  He  had  sweated  blood  over  the 
humiliation  of  the  Pacific  scandal  of  1873,  perhaps 
not  so  much  for  what  he  had  hastily  and  carelessly 
done,  as  from  the  subsequent  revelations.  He  had 
colleagues  who  in  that  terrible  hour  had  privately 
intrigued  to  get  him  removed  from  the  high  position 
of  leader  of  the  party.  To  force  a  certificate  of 
character  from  Donald  A.  at  the  present  moment 
was  some  satisfaction.  There  was  no  way  of  escape 
for  "  the  traitor."  And  Donald  A.  Smith  had  the 
blood  of  Highlanders  in  his  veins.  It  was  a  strange 
coincidence  that  ten  years  later  he  should  erect  a 
summer  residence  in  the  Vale  of  Glencoe,  where 
from  his  bedroom  window  of  a  moonlight  night  he 
could  see  the  solemn  and  lonely  pillar  commemorating 
the  cruel  massacre  of  the  Macdonalds — Scotchmen 
who  had  been  run  in  a  different  mould. 

Only  a  Scotchman  could  conceive  of  making  a 
countryman  of  his  own  pay  such  a  price  as  Sir  John 
demanded  from  Donald  A.  Smith.  A  more  abject 
humiliation  was  impossible.  Donald  A.  Smith,  how- 
ever, took  his  medicine  like  a  man,  but  his  friends 
knew  that  he  would  rather  have  paid  a  fortune  and 
have  had  the  cup  pass  from  him. 

However,  the  loan  of  $30,000,000  (£6,000,000) 
was  secured  and  the  situation  effectively  saved. 


XV 

Demoralization  of  public  life — Members  appeal  for  funds  to  the 
syndicate — Fraudulent  company  subscriptions — A  hungry  lot — 
Donald  A.'s  opinion — The  cloak  for  many  offences — A  fortune 
in  a  night — Demoralization  run  riot. 

The  point  has  now  been  reached  from  which  dates 

the  open  demoralization  of  the  Canadian  Parliament. 

Year  after  year  the  syndicate  came  back  for  additional 

legislation.     The  favours  already  received  showed  how 

easily   they   could   clamour   for   more.     Members   of 

Parliament  were  publicly  retained  in  the  interests  of 

the  Company.     The  corridors  of  the  Senate  and  the 

House   of   Commons   swarmed  with   their  lobbyists. 

Parliament  awakened  to  the  fact  that  private  fortunes 

were  being  created  by  the  votes  in  the  House.     The 

prevalence  of  that  idea  in  the  minds  of  public  men 

could  have  but  one  result.     If  the  power  which  they 

exercised  could  distribute  wealth,  or  its  equivalent, 

in  the  way  of  charters  that  might  be  sold  to  the  great 

corporation,  the  natural  inquiry  was   "  Where  do   I 

come  in  ?  "     The  cankerworm  had  reached  the  vitals 

of  the  body  politic. 

To  bask  in  the  favour  of  the  local  Canadian  Pacific 

Railway  magnates  meant  everything.     In  the  purchase 

of  supplies,  in  the  awarding  of  contracts,  in  options 

149 


150  LORD   STRATHCONA 

on  proposed  town  sites  along  the  line  of  railway,  in 
obtaining  inside  information  about  the  prospective 
route  of  branch-lines  for  speculative  purposes,  in 
allowing  special  terms  and  prices  in  purchasing 
railway  lands,  in  the  free  distribution  of  paid-up 
stock  of  the  Company's  subsidiary  corporations, 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons  were  not  for- 
gotten. For  those  in  professional  life  there  were 
always  vacancies  and  liberal  retaining  fees.  The 
banking  books  and  financial  statements  of  members 
of  the  syndicate  showed  demands  made  upon  them 
by  members  of  Parliament  in  the  form  of  requests  for 
subscriptions  for  bogus  companies,  incorporated  for  no 
other  purpose  than  to  furnish  an  excuse  for  asking 
these  railway  magnates  to  subscribe  tens  of  thousands 
of  dollars,  in  return  for  which  the  subscribers  never 
received  anything  more  than  scrip,  which  was  just  so 
much  waste  paper. 

When  telling  the  writer  of  some  of  his  extra- 
ordinary experiences  with  public  men  of  the  country 
at  this  particular  time,  Lord  Strathcona  asked  me  if 
I  had  any  acquaintance  with  a  certain  gentleman,  now 
living,  a  member  of  the  Canadian  Legislature  at  this 
period  and  a  supporter  of  Sir  John  Macdonald.  Lord 
Strathcona  went  on  to  say  that,  upon  one  occasion, 
immediately  after  he  had  sailed  from  New  York  for 
Liverpool,  a  cheque  was  received  at  his  office  in 
Montreal  from  the  member  in  question,  purporting 
to  be  an  interim  dividend  for  three  months  on  $  10,000 
stock  which  he  (Donald  A.  Smith)  had  subscribed  and 


POLITICAL  HIGHWAYMEN  151 

was  said  to  hold  in Company,  and  of  which  the 

sender  was  President.  The  amount  of  the  cheque 
was  $150.  Three  days  afterwards  a  demand  Draft 
or  Bill  of  Exchange  was  received  at  his  office  for 
$10,000  as  payment  for  the  stock  which  he  "  had 
probably  forgotten  to  remit."  The  manager  of  the 
office  paid  the  draft  on  presentation.  At  the  end  of 
the  year  in  looking  over  the  accounts  Lord  Strathcona 
came  across  this  item.  The  manager  explained. 
When  telling  the  story  to  the  writer  in  1900  Lord 
Strathcona  added :  "  I  said  nothing,  and  even  now 
my  manager  does  not  know  that  the  whole  business 
was  a  carefully  prepared  fraud."  He  quietly  added, 
"  They  were  a  hungry  lot  in  Ottawa  then." 

Among  the  list  of  directors  mentioned  in  the 
charter  incorporating  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway, 
granted  by  the  Canadian  Parliament,  are  names 
honoured  in  the  history  of  Great  Britain;  names 
significant  of  commercial,  official  and  political  promi- 
nence, whose  records  stand  unblemished.  In  this  case, 
however,  they  stood  as  a  covert  from  the  storm  for  the 
Canadian  end  of  the  Company.  It  has  never  been 
suggested  for  a  moment,  during  the  times  of  the 
greatest  possible  interest  in  this  question  in  Canada, 
that  these  co-directors  were  associated  in  the  remotest 
degree  with  the  painful  and  demoralizing  events  that 
marked  the  operations  of  the  syndicate  in  the  Do- 
minion. Whether  any  of  them  participated  in  the 
profits  that  the  Canadian  directors  accumulated  or 
not,  does  not  necessarily  form  a  subject  of  inquiry. 


152  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Th4t  they  were  kept  in  the  dark  about  the  other 
matters  is  accepted  without  question.  That  for  any 
consideration  whatever,  they  could  become  parties  to 
the  conduct  of  business  which  they  would  condemn 
in  British  politics,  is  impossible  to  imagine. 

The  mistake  made  by  those  in  Canada  who  were 
opposed  to  the  syndicate  was  in  not  appealing  to  the 
British  and  foreign  representatives  on  the  board  of 
directors  to  assist  in  putting  an  end  to  the  objection- 
able methods  then  in  full  swing  in  Canada.  Perhaps 
if  this  had  been  done,  many  of  the  darkest  pages  in 
the  political  history  of  the  Dominion  would  never  have 
been  written,  and  the  stigma  that  must  ever  remain 
on  great  names  would  have  been  avoided. 

A  saturnalia  of  corruption  on  other  lines  also  took 
possession  of  Parliamentary  life.  It  began  at  the  head 
and  gradually  made  its  way  to  the  rank  and  file.  The 
fundamental  article  of  faith  under  the  new  conditions 
was  that  public  men  should  use  their  representative 
positions  for  purposes  of  personal  gain.  A  state  of 
public  morals  soon  arose  that  would  have  been  utterly 
abhorrent  to  the  members  of  Parliament  a  decade 
earlier.  No  one  can  think  of  Draper,  Harrison,  Howe, 
the  Camerons,  the  Richards,  and  a  score  of  others 
using  Parliament  as  a  stepping-stone  to  personal  wealth. 
Family  history  in  those  earlier  times  gloried  in  the 
fact  that  the  patrimony  had  all  been  spent  in  the 
public  service.  In  every  one  of  the  old  provinces 
there  may  be  seen  places  telling  of  the  ruined  fortunes 
of  those  who  had  once  served  the  state.     It  may  not 


BUYING  POLITICAL  SUPPORT  153 

be  a  matter  for  congratulation  that  the  state  accepts 
a  man's  time  and  fortune  and  gives  nothing  in  return ; 
but  it  is  a  subject  for  pride  that  so  many  of  those 
representatives,  in  the  first  thirty  years  of  responsible 
Government,  strove  to  raise  so  high  a  standard  of 
honesty  and  integrity  in  public  places. 

The  arrangement  with  the  syndicate  provided  for 
early  completion  of  the  railway  across  the  prairies, 
and  opened  the  door  of  unlimited  possibilities  to  those 
having  access  to  the  charmed  circle  at  Ottawa. 
Colonization  companies  were  granted  enormous  areas 
of  the  public  domain  within  the  fertile  belt.  The 
personnel  having  control  of  these  companies  must,  of 
course,  be  persona  grata  to  the  Government.  That 
was  the  open  sesame.  Interests  in  these  concessions 
were  available  to  many  who  were  willing  to  change 
their  political  faith  for  the  sure  and  certain  hope  of 
getting  rich  at  the  expense  of  the  state.  The  only 
wonder  is  that  many  more  did  not  fall.  The  Dominion 
Government,  also,  formally  took  possession  of  100,000 
square  miles  of  the  western  part  of  Ontario,  about 
which %  there  was  a  dispute  as  to  jurisdiction  between 
the  province  and  the  Dominion.  The  decision  of  the 
Privy  Council  subsequently  awarded  the  disputed 
territory  to  Ontario.  But  in  the  meantime,  while  the 
matter  was  sub  judice,  extensive  areas  in  the  territory 
were  parcelled  out  among  supporters  of  the  Govern- 
ment. The  land  was  covered  with  valuable  timber 
limits,  for  which  a  ready  market  was  available  with 
the  lumber  kings  in  the  state  of  Michigan,  where  the 


154  LORD   STRATHCONA 

forests  were  already  very  much  depleted.  Scores  of 
members  of  Parliament  were  among  those  to  whom 
these  lands  were  distributed. 

Forests  in  the  new  western  prairies,  where  timber 
was  comparatively  scarce,  were  sold  to  certain  members 
at  the  nominal  figure  of  $5  (£1)  per  square  mile.  One 
of  these  concessions  was  secured  by  an  influential 
member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  the  late  John 
Charles  Rykert.  He  effected  a  sale  to  a  millionaire 
named  Sands,  of  Detroit,  receiving  in  payment  thereof 
four  short-date  promissory  notes  of  $50,000(^10,000) 
each,  which  were  afterwards  paid  in  full.  Depart- 
mental papers  giving  the  details  of  this  wholesale 
distribution  of  the  public  domain  among  the  supporters 
of  the  Government,  were  brought  down  to  Parliament 
in  the  most  unblushing  manner. 

Ministers  of  the  Crown  received  subscriptions  for 
campaign  purposes  from  contractors  and  those  seeking 
favours  from  their  own  departments,  forgetting  or 
indifferent  to  the  fact  that  the  proof  of  Sir  John  A. 
Macdonald  and  Sir  George  Cartier  having  done  so 
with  Sir  Hugh  Allan  in  1872  brought  about  the 
downfall  of  the  Government  of  that  day.  But  things 
had  moved  on  in  Canada  since  then ! 

Cabinet  Ministers  secretly  held  lands  in  their  own 
names  and  arranged  with  confidential  officials  to 
unload  their  holdings  on  the  public,  a  practice  that  is 
in  vogue  while  these  notes  are  being  written,  but 
matters  have  so  far  improved  that  the  knowledge  of 
this  is  withheld  from  Parliament  ;  as  is  also  the  fact 


DEMORALIZATION  OF  PUBLIC  LIFE     155 

that  in  very  recent  times  a  Cabinet  Minister  at  the 
head  of  one  of  the  great  spending  departments  has 
personally  collected  toll  from  successful  tenders  before 
awarding  the  contracts.  In  the  period  covered  between 
1880  and  1890  the  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons 
boldly  twitted  their  political  opponents  with  "not 
being  in  the  swim."  But  these  influences  spread  to 
some  extent  to  the  other  side  of  the  House,  where 
substantial  favours  from  the  syndicate  were  secretly 
distributed. 

This  was  the  deplorable  state  of  affairs  in  the  Cana- 
dian Parliaments  between  1880  and  1890 — the  climax 
of  the  demoralization  of  the  public  life  in  the  Dominion. 
It  was  the  direct  result  of  the  corrupt  means  inaugur- 
ated by  a  syndicate  of  capitalists  getting  possession  of 
the  charter  for  the  construction  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  as  well  as  the  portions  of  the  completed 
line  that  a  previous  Prime  Minister  had  declared  he 
would  leave  as  a  heritage  to  the  people  of  Canada. 
As  the  syndicate  came  back  to  Parliament  year  after 
year,  for  further  concessions  in  the  way  of  legislation, 
so  in  a  corresponding  manner  the  circle  of  political 
demoralization  widened.  The  wonder  is,  looking  back 
upon  the  events  of  that  dismal  period  in  Canadian 
history,  that  even  a  leaven  of  Liberal  Members  retained 
their  seats  in  the  House,  or  made  any  attempt  to  stem 
the  tide  of  evil  influences. 


XVI 

The  American  railway  deal — Dealing  with  the  Official  Receiver — 
Wants  share  of  the  spoils — Thirteen  years*  lawsuit — The  syndicate 
won  in  the  courts — Profits  from  American  deal. 

It  was  fully  expected,  within  a  year  from  the  time 
that  had  now  been  reached,  that  the  railway  across 
the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  would  be 
completed.  Things  had  also  been  moving  satisfac- 
torily with  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Manitoba 
Railway,  the  venture  of  ten  years  previously.  Since 
1882  dividends  had  been  regularly  received  on  the 
$15,000,000  stock  that  the  syndicate  had  presented  to 
themselves  on  the  incorporation  of  the  Company,  the 
only  cost  for  which  had  been  the  account  for  printing. 
The  railway  formed  the  basis  of  the  extension  to  which 
J.  J.  Hill  was  giving  his  attention,  and  in  which  the 
original  syndicate,  including  Donald  A.  Smith,  retained 
their  interest.  The  much  disputed  Pembina  Branch 
of  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Manitoba  Railway 
had  been  long  completed,  and  Winnipeg  was  connected 
by  rail  with  the  outer  world.  An  obliging  Senate  at 
Ottawa  discovered  after  the  defeat  of  the  Mackenzie 
Government  that  stronger  Imperial  reasons  existed 
for  the  connection  being  made  with  the  United  States 
railway  system  than  had  existed  against  it  two  years 

156 


EFFECT  OF  RAILWAY  MONOPOLY      157 

previously,  and  arrangements  were  made  with  the 
syndicate  for  the  construction  of  the  Pembina  branch 
from  Winnipeg  to  the  international  border  as  a  branch 
of  the  Canadian  Pacific  system.  It  was  argued  this 
railway  was  now  necessary  as  a  means  of  transport  for 
construction  supplies  for  the  prairie  end  of  the 
Canadian  system. 

The  query  is  perfectly  natural  as  to  why  the  syndicate 
who  got  possession  of  the  railway  connection  from 
Minneapolis  to  Winnipeg  should  also  want  to  control 
the  transcontinental  line  through  Canada.  This  is 
explained  by  one  of  the  terms  of  the  agreement  be- 
tween the  Canadian  Government  and  the  syndicate — 
the  monopoly  that  was  given  of  the  railway  system 
in  the  Canadian  west  for  twenty  years.  The  Canadian 
end  of  the  syndicate  could  depend  upon  J.  J.  Hill 
taking  steps  in  the  United  States  to  prevent  the 
construction  of  any  other  line  to  the  Canadian  border. 
The  same  capitalists  were  in  both  enterprises.  Be- 
tween them  there  would  be  no  competition  in  rates, 
so  that  the  general  public  would  be  at  their  mercy. 
And  this  is  how  it  worked.  The  "  Empire-Builders " 
had  the  great  farming  community  of  the  west  between 
the  upper  and  nether  millstones. 

Meanwhile  Jesse  P.  Farley,  the  former  Receiver, 
clamoured  for  his  share  of  the  spoils.  He  was  the 
principal  factor  in  doing  the  Dutchmen  out  of  their  in- 
vestment, and  held  an  assurance  from  some  one,  that 
one-fifth  of  the  profits  would  fall  to  his  lot.  Had  he 
dealt  honestly  with  the  Dutchmen  who  trusted  him, 


158  LORD   STRATHCONA 

they   would   not    only   have    received    their   interest 

regularly,    but    eventually    the    principal     as     well, 

amounting  to  sixty-five  million  gulden.     Farley  found 

that— 

"The  downhill  path  is  easy, 

And  there  is  no  turning  back." 

He  could  not  undo  the  wrong  he  had  done,  and  he 
had  had  no  share  of  the  good  fruit.  He  was  doubly 
aggrieved.  In  Montreal  and  St.  Paul  princely  man- 
sions had  been  erected  by  those  who  had  benefited  by 
his  actions.  Without  him  they  could  have  done 
nothing.  His  advice  and  co-operation  had  been 
essential  and  effective.  He  said  he  had  been  promised 
the  one-fifth,  but  because  of  his  position  as  Receiver 
it  was  necessary  that  the  transaction  should  not  be 
put  into  writing,  and  was  to  remain  a  secret  agreement. 
The  syndicate  had  taken  possession  of  the  property 
and  then  sold  the  whole  concern  out  to  themselves 
under  the  name  of  the  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and 
Manitoba  Company.  They  now  boldly  declined  to 
recognize  his  claim  and  give  him  the  fifth  that  he 
alleged  he  was  entitled  to  under  the  terms  of  the 
original  negotiations. 

It  is  impossible  to  defend  the  code  of  morals  that 
allows  a  Receiver,  who  is  a  court  officer,  and  has  definite 
trust  responsibilities,  to  participate  in  the  profits  of 
any  such  arrangements  as  he  said  had  been  made. 
Donald  A.  Smith,  as  the  one  who  first  broached  the 
question  of  buying  the  railway,  no  doubt  accepted 
this  view.  To  admit  Farley's  contention  was  to  en- 
courage dishonesty  among  trustees,  and  also  to  offer 


HOW  THE  DUTCHMEN   WERE   WORKED    159 

a  premium  on  wrong-doing.  Therefore  Farley  was 
repudiated  lock,  stock  and  barrel.  He  finally  got 
tired  of  waiting  and  entered  an  action-at-law.  For 
thirteen  long  weary  years  the  suit  dragged  its  way 
through  the  courts  of  the  United  States,1  finally 
reaching  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  Republic 
in  1893,  journeying  twice  in  the  meantime  between 
Minneapolis  and  Washington  on  legal  technicalities. 

When  the  suit  came  on  for  trial  in  the  First  Court 
Jesse  P.  Farley  told  his  story.  His  allegations  were 
clear  and  distinct — he  had  agreed  to  help  the  Canadian 
syndicate  to  get  the  road,  to  force  the  Dutchmen  to 
sell  their  bonds,  and  to  use  his  official  position  to 
further  the  scheme.  If  he  told  the  truth  the  trans- 
action was  not  merely  a  scandal.  He  had  made 
a  bargain  with  the  Canadian  syndicate  altogether 
incompatible  with  the  most  elementary  principles  of 
honesty. 

Farley  was  corroborated  by  Mr.  Fisher,  the  president 
of  the  St.  Paul  and  Duluth  Railway.  Kittson,  who  was 
also  expected  to  confirm  Farley's  testimony,  died  before 
the  case  came  to  trial.  Alleged  conversations  with 
Kittson  were,  however,  given  in  evidence.  On  the 
other  side  J.  J.  Hill  declared  there  had  been  no  such 
agreement  as  Farley  suggested.  In  this  he  was  sup- 
ported by  affidavits  from  Donald  A.  Smith  and  George 
Stephen.  The  court  held  that  Farley's  failure  to 
prove  his  claim  by  a  written  agreement  would  entitle 
the  defendant  to  a  decision,  and,  even  if  there  had 
been  an  agreement  in  writing,  it  would  have  been 
x  Appendix,  19. 


160  LORD   STRATHCONA 

improper  and  illegal  on  account  of  the  trusteeship 
which  Farley  was  then  exercising.  But  long  before 
the  final  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  at  Washington 
was  given  Jesse  P.  Farley  had  gone  to  that  bourne  from 
whence  no  traveller  returns.  Donald  A.  Smith,  J.  J. 
Hill,  George  Stephen,  and  the  heirs  of  N.  W.  Kittson 
(all  Canadians)  from  now  on,  remained  in  peaceable 
possession  of  the  property. 

Donald  A.  Smith,  George  Stephen  and  J.  J.  Hill 
continued  in  intimate  business  relationship  through 
all  these  years.  The  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and 
Manitoba  Company  became  one  of  the  trunk  lines  of 
the  western  states  under  another  name,  reaching  out 
its  arms  to  the  Canadian  west  at  three  or  four  points. 
St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  and  Winnipeg  became  great 
tributaries  to  this  sytem,  resulting  in  an  enormous 
accretion  of  wealth  by  the  original  syndicate  which 
had  obtained  possession  of  the  rights  of  the  Dutch 
bondholders.  No  wonder  Jesse  P.  Farley  wanted  his 
share,  when  he  saw,  as  the  years  rolled  by,  the  colossal 
fortunes  that  he  had  passed  over  to  the  Canadian 
quartette.  In  twenty-seven  years  Donald  A.  Smith, 
J.  J.  Hill  and  their  associates  in  this  venture  received 
$413,000,000(^82,600,000)  interest  bearing  securities, 
exclusive  of  annual  dividends  in  the  meantime,  as  the 
result  of  the  railway  speculation  that  Donald  A.  Smith 
outlined  to  J.  J.  Hill  at  "  The  Cottage  "  in  Ottawa 
in  1876 — the  foundation  of  these  colossal  figures  being 
the  payment  of  $6,000,000  (£1,200,000)  to  Dutch 
bondholders  borrowed  from  a  bank  of  which  Donald 
A.  Smith  was  a  director,  and  afterwards  repaid  by  a 


A  RAILWAY  ELDORADO  161 

new  issue  of  bonds.  And  the  Dutchmen  still  have  a 
vivid  recollection  how  in  buying  those  bonds  they 
figuratively  had  gone  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Jericho. 
From  a  memorandum  prepared  for  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Commission  at  Spokane  by  Attorney  Brooke 
Adams,  grandson  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  one  of  the 
great  fathers  of  the  American  Republic,  these  figures 
show  the  amounts  of  interest-paying  securities  divided 
between  Donald  A.  Smith,  J.  J.  Hill  and  their  associates 
in  less  than  thirty  years. 


1879 

$15,000,000 

1898 

$28,000,000 

1882 

2,000,000 

1899 

13,500,000 

1883 

9,000,000 

1899 

6,750,000 

1888 

2,000,000 

I9OI 

30,750,000 

1890 

4,200,000 

I905 

41,000,000 

1892 

4,125,000 

I906 

84,000,000 

1893 

2,000,000 

I906 

135,000,000 

1898 

30,000,000 

The  last  item  was  issued  in  the  form  of  Ore  certificates ; 
1,500,000  certificates  of  $100  each,  the  market  value 
of  each  certificate  then  being  $90. 

The  syndicate  owns  a  vast  area  of  very  high  class 
iron  ore  in  Mesaba  county  in  the  state  of  Minnesota, 
secured  partially  by  purchase  out  of  the  earnings  of  the 
railway  company,  the  balance  in  the  land  grant  that 
formed  part  of  the  security  of  the  Dutch  bondholders. 
The  Company  has  a  perpetual  contract  with  the 
United  Steel  Corporation  for  the  full  run  of  the  ore 
in  these  mines,  furnishing  a  source  of  wealth  for 
generations,  by  itself  an  Eldorado. 


XVII 

The  danger  to  the  state — Loading  the  dice — Louis  Riel  still  a  factor 
— Blake's  resignation — Moments  never  to  be  forgotten — Blake's 
farewell  to  Canada. 

In  inverse  ratio,  but  to  a  corresponding  degree,  just 
as  the  friends  of  the  syndicate  in  Parliament  secured 
the  support  of  this  now  enormously  powerful  corpora- 
tion in  the  country,  so  were  those  opposed  to  the 
demands  and  methods  of  the  syndicate  marked  out 
for  political  extinction.  These  members  of  the 
Commons  were  followed  to  their  constituencies,  and 
there  found  themselves  opposed  by  candidates  whose 
election  expenses  were  paid  from  some  outside  source, 
and  paid  on  a  most  liberal  scale.  Not  a  few  were 
unable  to  overcome  such  influences  among  their 
hitherto  faithful  constituents.  The  Opposition  was 
apparently  doomed  to  be  as  helpless  in  the  country 
as  it  was  in  the  House.  Many  estimable,  high-minded 
and  able  representatives  in  the  House  of  Commons 
were  forced  out  of  public  life  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  they  had  been  faithful  guardians  of  the  public 
interests.  The  Company  which  had  been  incorporated 
by  Parliament  was  fast  becoming  its  master — it  had 
already  become  a  menace  to  the  state.  The  dragon's 
teeth  so  blindly  sown  in  1880  were  bringing  forth  a 

terrible  harvest. 

162 


AN  ADMISSION  BY   ONE   WHO   KNEW     163 

For  reasons  that  need  not  be  particularized,  Duncan 
Mclntyre,  one  of  the  original  members,  withdrew  from 
the  syndicate.  He  was  opposed  to  the  persistent 
interference  by  the  Company  with  the  Government 
of  the  country.  He  had  some  notion  of  fighting  the 
question  out  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  made  known  his  wishes  to  the  Liberal  leaders.  A 
vacancy  occurring  in  an  Ontario  constituency  at  this 
time  offered  an  opportunity.  The  writer  presented 
Mr.  Mclntyre's  name  to  the  Liberal  convention,  and 
he  was  accepted  as  the  candidate.  Mr.  Mclntyre  was 
in  the  far  west  when  he  received  word  about  his 
nomination.  The  Government  issued  the  writ  and 
hurried  on  the  election  in  a  most  unusual  manner. 
Mr.  Mclntyre,  although  he  engaged  a  special  train  to 
carry  him  over  two  thousand  miles,  only  reached  the 
riding  the  day  of  the  election.  All  the  forces  of  the 
syndicate  were  thrown  against  him,  the  constituency 
was  flooded  with  railway  contractors  and  money,  and 
Mr.  Mclntyre  was  defeated.  In  a  conversation  in  the 
local  hotel  when  the  disappointing  returns  came  in, 
Mr.  Mclntyre  turned  to  the  writer  and  said  :  "  You 
will  never  know  the  force  of  the  influences  you  are  up 
against.  Canada  is  paying  an  awful  price  for  being 
ruled  by  my  former  associates." 

The  general  election  campaign  of  1887  was  marked 
with  more  than  usual  bitterness.  It  had  in  many  ways 
ceased  to  be  political,  and  had  become  personal.  This 
particular  phase  was  no  doubt  due  to  the  necessity  of 
publishing  the  names  of  the  members  of  Parliament 


164  LORD   STRATHCONA 

who  had  been  participants  in  the  distribution  of  the 
public  lands.  The  new  Franchise  and  Voters'  List 
Act,  modelled,  it  was  alleged,  after  the  British  Act, 
passed  in  the  session  of  1885,  and  came  into  operation. 
The  Revising  Officers  in  all  the  fighting  ridings  were 
extreme  partisans.  Liberals  were  heavily  handicapped 
in  endeavouring  to  secure  their  rights.  It  is  a  sordid 
tiresome  story,  and  but  one  or  two  illustrations  will 
suffice.  In  the  constituency  represented  by  Edward 
Blake,  the  Liberal  leader,  the  discovery  was  made  a 
few  days  before  the  final  revision  that  165  Liberal 
voters  had  been  omitted  from  the  lists.  In  a  neigh- 
bouring constituency  among  many  flagrant  errors  was 
the  name  "  B.  C.  Church  "  on  the  list.  Reference  to 
the  assessment  roll  showed  the  property  to  be  a  church 
belonging  to  the  Bible  Christian  denomination.  The 
Revising  Officer  refused  to  remove  the  name  when  the 
matter  was  presented  to  him,  because  "  he "  had 
not  been  served  with  a  formal  notice  that  application 
was  to  be  made  to  remove  "  his  "  name  from  the  list. 
At  the  election  "  B.  C.  Church  "  subsequently  voted. 
He  had  not  been  seen  in  that  district  before,  nor  has 
he  ever  been  heard  of  since. 

When  the  Voters'  Lists  were  received  from  the 
Government  printing  bureau,  in  many  of  the  con- 
stituencies it  was  found  that  in  the  doubtful  ridings 
numbers  of  well-known  Liberals  had  been  omitted  and 
were  therefore  unable  to  vote.  There  had  been 
added  to  several  Ontario  constituencies  under  the 
recent   Franchise  Act,   tribes   of    Indians   as   voters. 


A  NARROW   MAJORITY  165 

In  one  of  these  ridings  which  had  been  represented 
by  Liberals  for  many  years,  the  night  before  the 
election,  what  purported  to  be  a  Proclamation  from 
Her  Majesty,  Queen  Victoria,  was  distributed  through- 
out the  Indian  reserve  with  a  great  flourish  of  trum- 
pets, commanding  the  Indians  to  vote  for  the  Tory 
candidate. 

In  the  province  of  Quebec  the  Government  had  no 
easy  time.  The  execution  of  Louis  Riel  for  partici- 
pation in  a  second  North-west  rebellion  had  given 
rise  to  a  Nationalist  party  amongst  the  Government 
supporters,  who  professed  to  believe  that  Riel  was  not 
punished  so  much  for  the  second  rebellion,  as  to 
placate  the  Orangemen  for  the  murder  of  Thomas 
Scott  in  the  first  outbreak.  These  candidates  for 
Parliament  publicly  pledged  themselves  to  vote  against 
the  Government  on  any  motion  of  want  of  confidence 
that  might  be  introduced  in  the  first  session.  With 
the  exception  of  the  western  territories,  the  elections 
throughout  Canada  were  simultaneous,  and  the  result, 
counting  the  Nationalists  as  against  the  Government, 
gave  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  a  majority  less  than  the 
double  figures — a  majority  that  would  soon  cease  to 
exist  if  the  Liberals  could  carry  two  or  three  of  the 
Prairie  constituencies. 

Mr.  Edward  Blake  was  physically  exhausted  by  the 
labour  of  the  campaign,  but  otherwise  seemed  in 
excellent  spirits.  The  day  following  the  election  he 
told  the  writer  that,  if  it  was  to  be  a  very  small  majority, 
he  preferred  that  it  should  be  with  the  Government 


166  LORD   STRATHCONA 

rather  than  with  him,  as  his  success  would  be  the  more 
complete  in  the  near  future.  Full  of  hope,  a  party 
started  for  the  west  to  assist  in  the  elections  in  the 
territories.  When  we  reached  Winnipeg,  however, 
we  received  the  amazing  news  that  Edward  Blake, 
previous  to  leaving  home  for  a  much-needed  rest,  had 
publicly  announced  his  resignation  as  leader  of  the 
Liberal  party,  pending  his  early  withdrawal  from  the 
House  of  Commons.  From  a  party  standpoint  the 
immediate  effect  was  staggering.  A  good  fight  was 
put  up  by  the  opponents  of  the  Government  in  the 
Prairie  constituencies,  but  the  Liberal  candidates  were 
buried  under  railway  and  official  influences.  Things 
were  done  by  the  Government  supporters  that  would 
never  have  been  attempted  had  they  known  that 
Edward  Blake  would  be  in  his  accustomed  place  at  the 
head  of  the  Liberal  party  in  Parliament.  They  knew 
that  for  a  brief  while,  at  least,  the  Opposition  forces 
at  Ottawa  would  be  disorganized  by  Blake's  resignation, 
and  they  therefore  took  risks  they  would  not  otherwise 
have  indulged  in.  This  was  where  the  first  effect  of 
Mr.  Blake's  resignation  was  felt  by  the  Liberal  party. 
I  saw  Mr.  Blake  on  his  return  home.  During 
several  years  of  very  intimate  political  association  he 
had  given  me  his  unreserved  confidence.  In  the 
strain  of  the  campaign  I  had  taken  complete  charge 
of  his  confidential  correspondence.  I  knew  his  aspira- 
tions, his  hopes  and  his  determination  to  model  a 
Government  in  the  Dominion  on  the  lines  of  the 
loftiest  ideals  of  British  Parliamentary  traditions.     It 


GIVING   UP   THE   FIGHT  167 

was  a  prospect  worth  living  for.  Now  the  pitcher 
was  broken  at  the  fountain.  He  was  sitting  in  his 
library  when  I  entered.  In  this  room  he  had  often 
explained  to  me  his  hopes  for  the  future  of  Canada, 
his  fears  of  the  constant  struggle  for  her  birthright. 
He  had  repeated  frequently  that,  much  as  he  desired 
it,  he  would  never  assume  power  unless  by  the  free 
and  unpurchased  will  of  the  electors.  Here,  also,  I 
had  met  Mr.  Justin  McCarthy,  and  in  discussing  the 
question  of  Home  Rule  he  more  than  hinted  at  the 
great  service  Mr.  Blake  could  render  the  cause  if  he 
would  consent  to  enter  Westminster.  But  Mr.  Blake's 
reply  invariably  was :  "  My  life's  work  is  here."  As  I 
grasped  his  hand  on  this  occasion  he  simply  pointed 
to  a  chair.  For  a  moment  the  silence  was  intense. 
Then  he  said  :  "  I  know  you  are  surprised.  I  came  to 
this  decision  alone.  My  life  is  too  valuable  and  my 
time  is  too  short  to  further  engage  in  the  useless 
struggle  with  the  demoralizing  influences  in  the  public 
life  of  this  country  which  are  the  direct  outcome  of 
the  work  of  the  syndicate.  You  will  not  live  to  see 
the  end.  It  will  take  two  generations  of  fighting  to 
rid  politics  of  its  effect,  no  matter  who  is  in  power. 
It  is  beyond  me." 

The  question  of  the  resignation  was  beyond  argu- 
ment. There  may  have  been  secret  regret,  but  there 
was  no  turning  back.  Nearly  thirty  years  have  rolled 
by  since  then.  Possibly  Edward  Blake  was  a  pessimist 
in  some  things,  but  he  loved  his  native  land  with  a 
superlative   love.     He   saw   nothing    ahead    save  the 


168  LORD   STRATHCONA 

assertive  power  of  private  wealth,  accumulated  at  the 
cost  of  the  state.  And  his  prediction  of  "  two 
generations  "  bids  fair  to  be  realized.  His  withdrawal 
from  the  leadership  was  a  crushing  blow  to  his  party. 
In  his  native  province  the  most  trying  experience  he 
had  to  endure  was  the  sudden  solicitude  by  his  political 
opponents  for  his  welfare.  The  Liberal  party,  in  their 
bitter  resentment  at  his  withdrawal,  forgot  the  twenty 
years  of  unwearied  and  unflinching  struggle  in  the 
cause  of  good  government  that  Edward  Blake  had 
given  to  Canada.  His  self-sacrifice,  his  fruitless  labour, 
his  resignation  and  its  cause,  must  ever  rank  as  one  of  the 
greatest  tragedies  connected  with  Canadian  politics. 

In  an  official  letter  to  the  people  of  Canada,  Edward 
Blake  thus  expressed  himself  upon  the  situation  at  a 
later  date,  with  lamentation  and  hope  that  may  well 
be  remembered  now — 

"  It  has  left  us  with  lowered  standards  of  public 
virtue  and  a  death-like  apathy  in  public  opinion  ;  with 
racial,  religious  and  provincial  animosities  rather  in- 
flamed than  soothed  ;  with  a  subservient  Parliament, 
an  autocratic  executive,  debauched  constituencies  and 
corrupted  and  corrupting  classes ;  with  lessened  self- 
reliance  and  increased  dependence  on  the  public  chest 
and  on  legislative  aids,  and  possessed  withal  by  a 
boastful  jingo  spirit  far  enough  removed  from  true 
manliness,  loudly  proclaiming  unreal  conditions  and 
exaggerated  sentiments,  while  actual  facts  and  genuine 
opinions  are  suppressed. 


LAMENTATION  AND  HOPE  169 

"  It  has  left  us  with  our  hands  tied,  our  future 
compromised,  and  in  such  a  plight  that,  whether  we 
stand  or  move,  we  must  run  some  risks  which  else  we 
might  have  either  declined  or  encountered  with  greater 
promise  of  success. 

"  Yet  let  us  never  despair  of  our  country  !  It  is  a 
goodly  land  ;  endowed  with  great  recuperative  powers 
and  vast  resources  as  yet  almost  undeveloped  ;  inhabited 
by  populations  moral  and  religious,  sober  and  indus- 
trious, virtuous  and  thrifty,  capable  and  instructed — 
the  descendants  of  a  choice  immigration,  of  men  of 
mark  and  courage,  energy  and  enterprise,  in  the  breasts 
of  whose  children  still  should  glow  the  sparks  of  those 
ancestral  fires. 

"  Under  such  conditions  all  is  not  lost.  '  Though 
much  be  taken  much  abides.'  And  if  we  do  but  wake 
from  our  delusive  dreams,  face  the  stern  facts  in  time, 
repair  our  errors  and  amend  our  ways,  there  may  still 
remain  for  us,  despite  the  irrevocable  past,  a  future, 
if  not  so  clear  and  bright  as  we  might  once  have  hoped, 
yet  fair  and  honourable,  dignified  and  secure." 


XVIII 

Muzzling  the  Press — Donald  A.'s  fear  of  criticism — Buying  up  the 
Globe  shares — Unsuccessful  efforts  at  prostitution  of  the  Press — 
Personal  admission  by  Lord  Strathcona. 

Following  the  loan  of  $30,000,000  by  Parliament  to 
the  syndicate,  the  Liberal  Press  made  an  appeal  to 
the  corporation,  now  that  the  resources  of  the  country 
were  again  called  upon  for  assistance,  to  cease  from 
active  participation  in  the  public  life  of  the  Dominion. 
The  Toronto  Globe,  recognized  as  the  leader  of  Liberal 
journalism,  was  particularly  insistent  in  demanding 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  forces  from 
the  political  arena.  Donald  A.  Smith  and  his  associates 
writhed  under  this  criticism,  as  well  as  the  appeals 
to  the  honour  of  the  members  of  the  syndicate.  A 
determination  was  then  arrived  at  to  attack  Liberal 
journalism  in  some  signal  and  effective  manner. 

It  had  long  been  evident  that  any  journalist  ven- 
turing to  attack  the  syndicate  was  duly  noted.  A 
"  jolly  good  fellow  "  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  Press 
department  of  the  railway.  To  him  was  left  the 
responsibility  of  distributing  favours,  railway  passes, 
and  printing  contracts.  But  if  journalism  could  not 
be  taught  the  error  of  its  ways  by  conciliatory  methods, 
then  it  must  be  made  to  feel  the  iron  hand  in  another 

manner.     Donald  A.  Smith  was  particularly  susceptible 

170 


MUZZLING   THE   PRESS  171 

to  newspaper  flattery  or  criticism.  In  regard  to  the 
latter  there  were  many  holes  in  his  armour  that  might 
be  unpleasantly  pierced.  As  his  years  increased  he 
became  even  more  sensitive  on  this  score.  His  remark 
to  a  prominent  Canadian  who  was  receiving  a  good  deal 
of  newspaper  attention  years  later  in  London,  "  Your 
name  has  no  right  to  be  there.  It  should  be  mine," 
was  heard  too  often  to  be  forgotten.  The  constant 
criticism  of  the  leading  organ  of  the  Liberal  party 
gave  rise  to  the  determination  to  silence  it  at  any  cost. 
The  founder  of  the  Globe,  George  Brown,  was  dead, 
the  deeply  mourned  victim  of  assassination,  the 
work  of  a  madman.  The  Globe  was  formed  into  a 
company,  odd  shares  being  held  in  different  parts  of 
the  country.  But  the  dividends  were  not  such  as  to 
justify  very  great  anxiety  on  the  part  of  the  holders 
to  retain  them  as  an  investment.  Secretly  Donald 
A.  Smith's  agents  bought  up  all  the  shares  that  were 
available.  The  probate  of  his  Will  shows  that  his 
estate  holds  $100,000  (£20,000)  worth  of  the  Globe 
stock.  He  learned,  however,  that  the  controlling 
interest  in  the  Globe  was  held  by  Nelson  &  Sons, 
publishers,  Edinburgh,  as  trustees  for  the  widow  of 
the  great  founder  of  this  journal.  Mrs.  Brown  was  a 
sister  of  the  Nelsons.  Donald  A.  Smith  instructed  his 
representative  to  proceed  to  Edinburgh  and  purchase 
Mrs.  Brown's  interest  at  any  cost.  The  sum  offered 
was  far  in  excess  of  the  then  value  of  the  shares,  but 
the  object  of  the  prospective  purchaser  was  only  too 
evident — to  silence  one  of  the  oldest  and  the  most 
influential  exponents  of  public  opinion  in  Canada — to 


172  LORD   STRATHCONA 

prostitute  the  reputation  of  a  great  newspaper  that 
for  fifty  years  had  stood  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle 
for  the  rights  of  the  people,  and  was  never  known 
either  to  be  silent  or  to  advocate  any  cause  from 
unworthy  motives. 

There  could  be  but  one  reason  why  the  syndicate 
wanted  to  get  possession  of  the  Globe — to  drag  into 
the  dust  this  organ  of  public  morality  for  its  own 
interested  ends.  But  again,  as  in  the  case  of  Alexander 
Mackenzie,  the  syndicate  ran  up  against  a  descendant 
of  the  old  Covenanters.  The  reply  that  was  received 
settled  the  matter  for  that  time.  Mrs.  Brown,  true 
to  the  memory  of  her  distinguished  husband,  sent  an 
account  of  what  was  on  foot  to  Canada,  suggesting 
that,  to  provide  for  contingencies  in  the  future,  it 
might  be  advisable  that  the  controlling  interest  in  the 
Globe  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Liberal  party. 
She  suggested  what  she  considered  a  fair  price  for  her 
interest,  and  it  was  learned  afterwards  that  this  was 
far  below  the  sum  that  had  been  offered  by  the  agent 
of  Donald  A.  Smith. 

When  the  news  of  the  prospective  transaction  was 
received  in  Toronto,  the  effect  was  startling.  The 
party  was  struggling  along,  ill-supplied  with  funds  for 
ordinary  organization,  but  there  could  be  no  delay 
about  a  matter  so  vital  as  this.  Sir  Richard  Cartwright, 
Hon.  A.  S.  Hardy,  Minister  of  Crown  Lands  in  the 
Ontario  Government,  Hon.  George  A.  Cox,  all  now 
deceased,  Mr.  Robert  Jaffray,  now  senator,  and  the 
writer  discussed  the  situation.  Messrs.  Cox  and 
Jaffray  offered  to  subscribe  half  the  amount  necessary, 


A   PLOT  THAT   FAILED  173 

if  the  balance  could  be  raised  elsewhere.  It  fell  to  the 
lot  of  the  writer  to  visit  Liberals  in  different  parts  of 
the  Dominion  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the  balance. 
The  purchase  was  satisfactorily  completed,  and  the 
newspaper  was  placed  beyond  the  possibility  of  falling 
into  the  possession  of  the  syndicate  during  the  present 
generation. 

Thirty  years  afterwards,  in  the  course  of  a  conver- 
sation with  Lord  Strathcona  on  journalistic  work  and 
the  influence  of  the  Press,  he  said  to  the  writer  :  "  Do 
you  know  that  once  I  came  nearly  being  a  newspaper 
man  myself  ?  "  I  replied  that  I  was  aware  he  had 
tried  to  get  possession  of  the  Globe  in  the  'eighties. 
"  Ah  yes,  you  know,  but  I  would  not  have  changed 
its  politics,  except  as  regards  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
It  was  very  abusive  then.  I  wanted  it  very  much. 
How  did  your  party  raise  the  money  to  get  it  ?  " 
I  told  him  about  our  determination  that  he  should 
never  have  it,  and  my  own  personal  efforts  in  collecting 
the  money.  He  added  :  "  So  it  was  you,  so  it  was  you. 
And  that  I  should  only  know  it  now !  But  I  would 
have  had  it  within  a  month  if  you  had  been  much 
longer.  The  Globe  was  very  insulting,  very  personal. 
It  treated  us  as  if  we  were  robbers."  The  writer  will 
not  deny  that  there  was  no  possibility  about  the 
language  of  that  day  being  misunderstood.  The 
friends  of  the  syndicate  blamed  us  for  the  bitterness 
that  was  expressed.  Our  justification  was  that  we 
were  fighting  against  great  odds,  with  no  personal 
ends  to  serve,  and  only  protecting  our  country's 
heritage  in  the  face  of  all  but  insuperable  difficulties. 


XIX 

Once  more  amid  old  associations — Political  predilections — Disallow- 
ance on  Manitoba's  legislation— Driving  the  golden  spike- 
Fighting  against  slavery — What  Manitoba  paid  for  liberty. 

After  the  elections  of  1887  Donald  A.  Smith  found 
himself  again  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Seven  years 
had  elapsed  since  his  forced  retirement  from  Parlia- 
ment by  the  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court.  There 
were  still  many  Tory  members  in  the  House  who 
were  present  on  that  memorable  occasion  in  1878, 
when  he  was  so  shockingly  insulted  by  the  Tory  party.1 
Now  he  appeared  as  their  associate  and  the  dutiful 
follower  of  their  leader.  In  glancing  around  he  could 
see  that  not  a  few  of  those  who  sympathized  with  him 
on  that  occasion  were  no  longer  in  the  House,  and  he 
could  reflect  how  much  of  the  money  of  the  syndicate 
had  gone,  secretly,  to  ensure  their  absence.  In  looking 
at  the  supporters  of  the  Government  he  could  recog- 
nize some  who  had  taken  their  part  in  the  insulting 
epithets  thrown  at  him  then,  and  remember  that  not 
a  little  of  the  money  which  he  controlled  had  gone 
to  keep  them  in  their  seats.  The  whirligig  of  time 
had  certainly  brought  great  changes !  Now  he  was 
forced  to  be  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  bitter  personal 
enemies,  and  to  publicly  repudiate  those  who  a  few 
years  previously  were  his  personal  and  political  friends. 

1  Appendix,  4. 
174 


COMPLETING  THE   RAILWAY  175 

Whatever  was  thought  of  the  reasons  which  had 
actuated  him  in  deserting  the  Tory  party  in  1873, 
there  was  no  doubt  as  to  why  he  was  supporting  the 
Tory  party  in  1887.  More  than  once  in  /the  years 
immediately  following  1880  was  he  reminded  of  the 
changed  circumstances,  as  well  as  of  the  opinions  his 
present  allies  had  expressed  of  him  on  that  well- 
remembered  occasion.  But  to  Donald  A.  Smith's 
credit  be  it  said  he  never  lost  his  temper  during  the 
nine  years  he  remained  in  the  House,  amid  the  many 
aggravating  and  annoying  reminders  of  the  past.  His 
philosophical  disposition  to  accept  the  inevitable  never 
deserted  him.  His  standard  of  political  honour  was 
not  high,  but  it  served.  To  him  it  was  always  his  first 
duty  to  consider  his  personal  interests,  and  he  could 
comfort  himself  with  the  reflection  that  he  was  no 
worse  than  many  who  were  sitting  around  him.  Not 
a  few  were  there  who  had  been  and  were  now  accept- 
ing substantial  favours  from  him  as  a  return  for  the 
enactment  of  legislation  which  the  syndicate  desired 
from  time  to  time. 

In  November,  1887,  four  years  earlier  than  the 
agreement  stipulated,  the  transcontinental  railway 
was  completed  to  the  Pacific  coast.  It  had  duly 
passed  out  of  the  possession  of  the  Canadian  people 
and  into  the  sole  control  of  a  few  magnates,  none  of 
whose  personal  wealth  had  been  expended  in  the 
construction  of  the  line.  Very  properly  the  master 
mind  of  the  syndicate,  the  genius  who  had  guided  and 
guarded  them  through  the  wilderness  of  difficulties, 


176  LORD   STRATHCONA 

never  losing  heart  or  failing  in  courage,  and  had 
brought  them  at  last  to  the  rainbow's  foot,  was 
selected  to  drive  the  golden  nail  in  the  last  rail  which 
connected  the  east  with  the  glorious  west.  In  after 
years  Lady  Strathcona  used  often  to  wear,  as  one  of 
her  most  treasured  possessions,  the  beautiful  diamond- 
studded  spike  which  the  grateful  syndicate  presented 
to  her  on  this  auspicious  occasion.  By  this  act  all  the 
members  of  the  syndicate,  and  those  who  had  become 
associated  with  the  enterprise,  publicly  acknowledged 
Donald  A.  Smith's  chief  place  in  the  great  organization. 

The  prairie  section  of  the  railway  had  only  been 
in  operation  a  short  time  when  the  west  resounded 
with  the  wails  of  the  farmers  against  the  excessive 
rates  that  were  being  charged  for  carrying  their 
produce  to  market-centres.  By  the  terms  of  the 
original  agreement,  a  loophole  was  left  whereby  the 
Company  could  do  just  about  as  it  pleased,  and  there 
was  no  adequate  protection  for  the  public.  Repre- 
sentations were  made  at  Ottawa  for  relief,  but  the 
syndicate,  like  Shylock,  pleaded  the  terms  of  the  bond. 

The  Legislature  of  Manitoba,  however,  had  become 
an  important  body,  and  the  Government  was  forced 
to  pass  legislation  incorporating  companies  for  con- 
structing other  railways  throughout  the  province. 
All  these  Bills  were  disallowed  with  commendable 
promptitude  by  the  Ottawa  Government,  and  the 
impression  took  possession  of  the  public  mind  of  the 
province  that  the  Manitoba  Cabinet  also  was  the  tool 
of  Donald  A.  Smith  and  his  associates,  and  was  less 


A   PROVINCE   IN   ARMS  177 

willing  to  protect  the  struggling  agricultural  com- 
munity than  to  interfere  with  the  schemes  of  the 
syndicate.  The  result  was  the  defeat  of  the  Norquay 
Cabinet.  They  were  followed  by  a  party  openly 
avowing  a  policy  of  constructing  railways  within  the 
province  regardless  of  disallowance  by  the  Federal 
administration  at  Ottawa.  The  public  declared  that 
they  would  have  competitive  railways  at  the  cost  of 
secession  from  eastern  Canada,  if  necessary.  The 
people  won.  Disallowance  ceased.  Then  a  similar 
agitation  took  place  in  the  territory  outside  Manitoba. 
When  the  Laurier  Government  came  into  power,  in 
order  to  secure  an  amicable  reduction  of  freight  or 
goods-rates  from  the  railway,  several  million  dollars 
additional  subsidy  was  granted  to  the  Company.  It  was 
fully  realized  that  the  shackles  the  M  Empire-Builders  " 
were  forging  on  the  general  public  could  not  be  borne 
without  entailing  conditions  of  absolute  slavery. 

The  citizens  of  Manitoba  now  resolved  to  firmly 
resist  any  further  extortions  imposed  upon  them  by 
Donald  A.  Smith's  railway  enterprises.  A  charter 
was  granted  by  the  legislative  assembly  of  the 
province  to  a  company  to  connect  with  the  Northern 
Pacific  Railway  of  the  United  States — the  rival  of 
J.  J.  Hill's  and  Donald  A.  Smith's  American  line.  It 
was  found  necessary  to  make  a  level  crossing  over  the 
syndicate's  railroad  in  order  to  reach  Brandon.  The 
employees  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  company  stood 
guard  over  their  line.  But  several  hundred  farmers 
and  citizens  of  Winnipeg  appeared,  armed  with  rifles, 


178  LORD   STRATHCONA 

rushed  the  position,  tore  up  the  Canadian  Pacific  rails, 
and  protected  the  navvies  while  the  diamond  crossing 
was  laid.  They  held  the  fort  for  several  days,  threat- 
ening violence  on  any  attempt  to  interfere  with  the 
new  railroad.  The  syndicate  finally  realized,  although 
the  courts  would  doubtless  have  assisted  them, 
the  utter  uselessness  of  engaging  in  a  contest  with 
a  province  so  unanimous  in  opposing  their  monopoly. 
They  retired  to  await  developments. 

Waiting  was  a  game  at  which  the  syndicate  was 
past-master. 

The  astute  "  Empire-Builders "  had  another  way  of 
"  getting  even  "  with  the  people  of  Manitoba.  They 
were  at  least  familiar  with  the  spirit  of  Byron's 
Mazeppa — 

"  For  time  at  last  sets  all  things  even — 
And  if  we  do  but  watch  the  hour, 
There  never  was  yet  human  power 
Which  could  evade,  if  unforgiven, 
The  patient  watch  and  vigil  long 
Of  him  who  treasures  up  a  wrong." 

The  following  year  the  wheat  crop  of  the  province 
was  very  poor,  and  much  of  it  was  damaged  by  an 
early  frost.  The  farmers  of  the  prairies  had  not  then 
learned,  as  they  afterwards  accidentally  discovered, 
that  wheat  can  be  sown  before  the  spring  frost  is  out 
of  the  ground,  and  thus  secure  the  maturing  of  the 
grain  before  the  early  autumn  frosts.  At  this  time 
the  Winnipeg  grain-dealers  could  only  find  a  market 
for  the  damaged  wheat  in  eastern  Canada.  The 
syndicate's  time  had  come  !    No  lower  quotation  could 


MAKING   THE   FARMER   PAY  179 

be  secured  from  the  railway  for  carrying  the  grain  to 
the  great  lakes,  from  whence  cheap  transportation 
could  be  had  by  water,  than  at  the  rate  of  twenty-eight 
cents  (is.  lid.)  per  bushel,  equivalent  to  about  forty- 
eight  cents  (2s.)  per  hundredweight.  Therefore,  the 
buyers  could  only  pay  the  farmers  thirty-five  cents 
(is.  6d.)  per  bushel  for  their  grain.  The  carrying 
distance  from  Winnipeg  to  the  lake  port  was  less 
than  600  miles  over  a  railway  that  had  cost  the  Cana- 
dian Government  $30,000,000  (^6,000,000),  and  which 
had  been  passed  over  to  the  Pacific  Railway  syndicate 
as  a  free  gift  by  Parliament.  At  the  time  the  Canadian 
syndicate  was  making  this  charge  for  carrying  Canadian 
grain,  Donald  A.  Smith's  American  railroad  was  carry- 
ing the  product  of  American  farms  at  less  than  half 
the  rate  for  the  same  distance. 

This  fearful  bleeding  of  the  life's  blood  of  the  toilers 
of  Manitoba  continued  until  Wilfrid  Laurier  came 
into  power.  But  before  this  occurred  ten  years  had 
elapsed.  This  was  the  price  that  the  struggle  for 
liberty,  or  in  fact  the  right  to  a  fair  reward  for  their 
hard  labour,  cost  the  people  of  Manitoba.  They  had 
ventured  to  cross  the  path  of  the  Juggernaut  that  was 
rolling  across  the  Canadian  prairies. 

Very  early  in  the  last  session  of  that  Parliament 
(1896),  Donald  A.  Smith  announced  his  intention  of 
retiring  from  the  House  of  Commons.  The  great 
head  of  the  Tory  party  for  thirty  years,  Sir  John 
Macdonald,  had  passed  over  to  the  Great  Majority 
amid  the  universal  lamentations  of  his  faithful  followers. 


180  LORD   STRATHCONA 

The  third  reorganization  of  the  party  had  taken  place 
since  Sir  John's  death.  The  Premier  could  not  be 
said  to  have  much  in  common  with  the  head  of  the 
Pacific  syndicate.  Donald  A.  Smith  was  quite  willing 
to  use  him,  as  he  had  used  other  instruments,  but  Sir 
Mackenzie  Bowell  had  never  forgiven  him  for  his 
desertion  of  the  party  in  1873.  Thus  there  was  more 
likelihood  of  the  First  Minister  being  in  the  way  than 
otherwise.  This  fact  was  made  abundantly  evident 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  session.  There  was  then 
nothing  in  either  the  intellectual  calibre,  or  the  social 
standing  of  the  remnant  of  the  great  party  that  had 
ruled  Canada  for  eighteen  years,  to  attract  Donald  A. 
Smith.  He  had  ceased  to  take  much  interest  in  the 
proceedings  in  the  House.  The  announcement,  there- 
fore, that  he  purposed  retiring  was  looked  upon  by 
many  as  perfectly  natural. 

The  rank  and  file  of  the  Tory  party  heard  of  his 
proposed  withdrawal  from  Parliament  with  mingled 
feelings.  They  were  not  sorry  he  was  leaving,  but 
they  wondeied  if  his  withdrawal  from  the  House  was 
indicative  of  a  move  in  the  direction  of  the  rising  star 
of  Wilfrid  Laurier.  It  was  acknowledged  that  the 
political  barometer  distinctly  indicated  that  but  a 
brief  period  would  elapse  before  the  Liberals  would 
be  in  power,  with  Laurier  as  Premier.  And  it  was 
equally  evident  that  the  Tory  party  had  reached  a 
point  when  cohesion  was  impossible.  For  the  time 
being  the  public  was  utterly  in  the  dark  as  to  Donald 
A.  Smith's  ultimate  intentions.     One  thing  only  was 


INTRODUCING  YANKEE   MANAGERS     181 

certain,  and  that  was,  whatever  course  he  might 
adopt,  there  would  be  only  one  paramount  con- 
sideration. But,  as  in  his  early  Parliamentary  career, 
he  was  keeping  his  own  counsel. 

In  the  meantime  history  was  being  made.  The 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  in  fifteen  years  had  developed 
into  one  of  the  most  stupendous  corporations  that  the 
world  has  ever  seen.  The  ramifications  of  its  business 
extended  throughout  America,  Europe,  Asia  and 
Australia.  In  reality  its  interests  had  encircled  the 
globe.  The  members  of  the  original  syndicate  had 
amassed  such  wealth  that  their  own  affairs  required 
undivided  attention.  The  methods  of  managing  the 
railway,  and  also  of  retaining  that  influence  in  political 
circles  which  they  regarded  as  a  necessity,  demanded 
other  experts.  To  meet  this  situation  officials  were 
imported  from  the  great  railroads  of  the  United 
States  to  take  the  management  of  the  railway.  No 
one  in  Canada  was  regarded  as  sufficiently  competent. 
Men  were  required  who  had  experience  in  extensive 
railroad  control,  as  well  as  in  the  manipulation  of 
American  politicians.  A  Parliamentary  humourist, 
and  also  one  of  the  warmest  friends  of  the  Company 
in  the  House,  justified  the  policy  of  the  syndicate  by 
jocularly  inquiring  "  What  can  a  draper  accustomed 
to  measure  cotton  by  the  yard,  or  his  companion, 
whose  principal  calling  in  life  has  been  to  trap  musk- 
rats  in  the  North-west,  know  about  railway  manage- 
ment ?  "  Practical  experience  and  up-to-date  methods 
were  necessary  for  the  most  obvious  reasons. 


182  LORD   STRATHCONA 

In  a  half-apologetic  manner  the  syndicate  had  asked 
financial  men  to  accept  seats  on  the  board  of  directors. 
The  new  officials  suggested  that,  with  the  presence  of 
Donald  A.  Smith  in  the  House  of  Commons  again, 
it  was  time  to  make  an  advance  all  along  the  line.  It 
was  also  opportune  that  directorships  should  be  given 
to  members  of  the  House  of  Commons.  And  instead 
of  treating  with  the  rank  and  file  of  either  of  the 
political  parties  in  the  House,  the  services  of  party 
whips  should  be  engaged  as  far  as  possible.  By 
securing  their  co-operation,  more  than  one  object 
could  be  attained.  It  might  be  possible  through 
their  influence  to  prevent  the  nomination  of  certain 
candidates  for  the  House,  who,  so  far,  had  failed  to  see 
eye-to-eye  with  the  syndicate,  especially  one  on  the 
Liberal  side  of  the  House,  who  had  been  most  insistent 
in  declaring  that  it  might  be  necessary  for  a  Royal 
Commission  to  inquire  into  the  political  actions  of 
the  syndicate.  The  syndicate  had  no  longer  any 
thought  of  being  a  suppliant  at  the  feet  of  Parliament. 
Its  mastery  might  now  be  asserted. 

There  was  surely  no  reason  why  members  of  the 
Board  should  not  be  secured  from  among  those 
occupying  the  highest  positions  in  the  gift  of  the 
people.  With  an  eye  to  the  future  this  policy  was 
agreed  upon,  and  in  carrying  it  out  excellent  results 
were  obtained.  Donald  A.  Smith  had  the  satisfaction 
of  seeing  both  a  Speaker  of  the  House,  and  a  First 
Minister  of  the  Crown  on  his  board  of  directors. 
With  such  aids  it  would  be  surprising  if  any  legislation 


LOOKING   FOR   FURTHER   PLUNDER    183 

that  might  be  desired  was  looked  for  in  vain.  With 
such  a  public  acknowledgment  of  their  influence  in 
the  state  one  would  have  thought  the  syndicate  might 
rest  on  their  laurels.  They  had  been  given  all  they 
demanded,  and  they  had  demanded  much.  But  there 
seemed  no  satisfying  their  ever-recurring  pangs  of 
hunger.  Their  appetite  was  stupendous.  So  once 
again  they  set  to  consider  whether  there  was  not 
something  else  in  the  possession  of  the  people  of 
Canada  that  they  could  get  their  hands  on.  Among 
them  were  those  who  had  no  narrow  views  as  to  the 
limits  of  exploiting  public  property,  provided  it  could 
be  done  with  some  outward  pretence  of  furthering 
general  public  interests,  or  for  which  some  alleged 
Imperial  necessity  could  be  used  as  a  cloak. 


XX 

"  And  Ahab  spake  unto  Naboth  " — Looking  for  another  grab — The 
Intercolonial  railway — An  unsatisfactory  Prime  Minister — Sir 
Mackenzie  Bowell — The  "  nest  of  traitors  " — A  successful  cabal. 

"  And  Ahab  spake  unto  Naboth,  saying,  Give  me 
thy  vineyard,  that  I  may  have  it  for  a  garden 
of  herbs,  because  it  is  near  unto  my  house : 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  better  vineyard  than  it ; 
or,  if  it  seem  good  to  thee,  I  will  give  thee  the 
worth  of  it  in  money. 

"  And  Naboth  said  to  Ahab,  The  Lord  forbid 
it,  that  I  should  give  the  inheritance  of  my 
fathers  unto  thee.  .  .  . 

"  And  Jezebel  his  wife  said  unto  him,  .  .  . 
I  will  give  thee  the  vineyard  of  Naboth  the 
Jezreelite." 

Under  the  original  agreement  with  the  Government 

the    Pacific   Railway   syndicate   received   a   bonus   of 

$25,000,000  (£5,000,000),  25,000,000  acres  of  selected 

lands  which  will  realize  the  Company  $350,000,000 

(£70,000,000),  and  portions  of  the  main  line  of  the 

Pacific   Railway  upon  which  the   people  of  Canada 

had  expended  nearly   $30,000,000  (£6,000,000).     In 

addition  to  all  this,  Donald  A.  Smith  and  his  associates 

had    borrowed    from    the    Government    $30,000,000 

(£6,000,000)    in    1883,    and    a   further    $15,000,000 

(£3,000,000)  in   1884.     If  the  Canadian  public  had 

184 


PLANS  TO   STEAL  A  RAILWAY  185 

not  by  this  time  become  so  accustomed  to  the  man- 
oeuvres of  the  Company  as  to  be  too  apathetic  to 
resist  them,  the  fact  that  they  were  once  again  looking 
around  for  yet  another  dainty  dish  to  set  before  their 
king,  might  have  caused  surprise  as  well  as  uneasiness. 
Inasmuch  as  it  did  not,  shows  how  completely  the 
people  were  then  under  the  heel  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  syndicate. 

The  Canadian  Government  owned  a  railway,  1500 
miles  long,  running  from  Quebec  to  two  Atlantic 
ports — St.  John  and  Halifax — the  route  lying  through 
the  Maritime  Provinces.  This  line  had  cost  Canada 
about  $65,000,000  (£13,000,000).  In  its  inception 
it  was  looked  upon  more  as  a  political  necessity  than 
as  a  business  investment.  In  fact  the  construction 
of  the  line  was  one  of  the  terms  of  the  Confederation 
of  the  provinces.  It  can  scarcely  be  claimed  that  the 
management  had  always  been  business-like,  the  result 
being  that  it  was  a  constant  bill  of  expense  to  the 
people  of  Canada.  Almost  every  year  Parliament  was 
asked  to  vote  large  sums  of  money  for  maintenance, 
and  of  late  it  had  been  under  the  political  control  of 
a  Minister  who  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  everything 
that  the  syndicate  wanted.  As  if  in  preparation  for 
subsequent  events,  little  had  been  left  undone  to 
make  the  public  dissatisfied  with  Government  owner- 
ship of  the  line. 

Donald  A.  Smith's  presence  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons again  was  coincident  with  influences  being 
brought  to  bear  on  the  Minister  in  charge,  whereby 
the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  was  given  free  running 


186  LORD   STRATHCONA 

powers  over  one-fifth  of  this  line,  with  full  permission 
to  compete  with  the  Government  trains  for  local 
traffic.  Ahab  coveting  Naboth's  vineyard  was  a 
righteous  desire  in  comparison  with  the  longing  eyes 
that  the  syndicate  set  on  this  Government  railway. 
Ahab  was  willing  to  pay  for  the  land  that  he  wanted, 
but  in  this  case  the  great  corporation  was  looking  for 
a  political  Jezebel  to  let  them  have  the  line  as  a  gift. 
It  was  their  intention  that  the  Canadian  exchequer 
should  not  get  anything  out  of  the  transaction.  It 
might  be  necessary  to  give  certain  politicians  practical 
proof  of  the  value  of  their  services,  but  that  was  a 
detail  which  could  easily  be  provided  for  out  of  the 
sale  of  the  securities  for  which  the  property  could  be 
bonded. 

For  several  reasons,  1894-5  was  considered  an 
opportune  time  to  commence  an  agitation  for  the 
disposal  of  the  Intercolonial  Railway  to  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Company.  The  public  was  told  with  great 
seriousness  that  the  railway  could  never  be  made  to 
pay  under  the  management  of  a  department  of  the 
Government.  The  annual  votes  of  Parliament  were 
quoted  to  show  the  burden  of  expense  that  it  had 
already  proved.  These  grants  might  fairly  be  taken 
as  an  indication  of  what  the  future  had  in  store  for 
Canadian  taxpayers. 

The  newspapers  subject  to  the  influences  exercised 
by  the  Pacific  Railway  supported  the  suggestion  to 
get  rid  of  the  "  incubus."  The  Maritime  Provinces, 
where  the  people  are  more  directly  interested,  were  the 
first    to   take   alarm.     But  it  was  suggested  that   a 


MEASURING  UP  THE  PROSPECTS       187 

Canadian  Pacific  management  would  bring  about 
many  necessary  reforms,  making  the  line  of  greater 
local  service,  and  they  were  also  assured  that  it  would 
then  be  the  main  line  of  the  great  transcontinental 
system.  Apparently  the  general  public  were  lulled 
into  a  sense  of  false  security,  and  the  subject  ceased 
to  engage  special  interest,  although  the  Liberal  Press 
strongly  denounced  the  proposal  as  inimical  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  country. 

The  unparalleled  success  with  which  the  syndicate 
had  so  far  manipulated  Canadian  politicians,  had  long 
since  given  them  the  necessary  courage  to  pursue  the 
even  tenor  of  their  way,  utterly  regardless  of  the  views 
that  the  Liberal  party  might  entertain  on  the  ques- 
tion. But  they  were  well  aware  that  there  would 
have  to  be  a  change  in  the  personnel  of  the  Govern- 
ment, before  getting  their  covetous  desires  realized  in 
respect  to  the  Intercolonial  Railway. 

Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell  was  First  Minister  at  this 
time.  He  succeeded  to  the  Premiership  by  right  of 
seniority,  on  the  death  of  Sir  John  Thompson.  He 
was  in  no  sense  regarded  as  belonging  to  a  brilliant 
order  of  statesmen.  Yet  amid  corrupt  political 
associations  he  preserved  a  reputation  for  sterling 
honesty.  It  might  be  truthfully  said  that  he  was 
moulded  on  exceedingly  narrow  lines.  He  was  singu- 
larly intolerant  towards  every  one  not  attached  to  the 
Tory  party.  This  was  probably  due  to  his  early  and 
continued  association  with  the  Orange  Order.  The 
Order  was  a  quasi  political-religious  association,  essen- 
tially Protestant,  but  far  from  being  essentially  religious 


188  LORD   STRATHCONA 

in  its  character.  Its  members  professed  the  belief 
that  the  Order  was  the  bulwark  of  Protestantism.  But 
the  outlook  would  have  been  very  discouraging  for 
Protestantism  if  its  future  depended  upon  such  a 
broken  reed.  Although  originally  founded  to  per- 
petuate the  memory  of  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne,  and 
therefore  purely  northern  Irish  in  its  character,  in 
Canada  it  numbered  among  its  adherents  almost  every 
nationality  and  colour.  Even  Indians  were  initiated 
into  the  mysteries  associated  with  membership  during 
that  brief  period  when  the  tribes  were  allowed  to  vote 
for  Parliamentary  candidates  between  1887  and  1896. 
The  Order  had  long  been  a  force  in  the  Tory  party, 
but  for  more  than  forty  years  it  had  failed  to  furnish 
the  party  with  a  single  politician  above  mediocre 
ability.  Nevertheless  Sir  John  Macdonald  had  always 
acknowledged  the  head  of  the  Order  for  political  prefer- 
ment. For  many  years  the  Grand-Master's  position 
was  associated  with  a  portfolio  in  Tory  Cabinets. 

Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell  was  strong  in  two  extremes 
of  character — admiration  and  hatred.  His  admiration 
for  Sir  John  Macdonald,  and  the  reverence  that  he 
entertained  for  the  memory  of  that  great  personality 
was  to  him  a  religion.  His  hatred  for  the  Tupper 
family,  although  one  was  a  colleague  in  his  own 
Cabinet,  and  the  other  was  his  High  Commissioner  in 
London,  also  partook  of  the  nature  of  religious  fervour. 
Upon  Sir  John  Macdonald's  reputation  there  was  one 
stain,  at  least — that  growing  out  of  the  Pacific  scandal 
of  1873.  And  it  was  on  this  account  that  Sir  Mackenzie 
Bowell  had  never  allowed  himself  to  forgive  the  part 


DRIVING  OUT  A  PRIME    MINISTER     189 

that  Donald  A.  Smith  had  played  in  that  ex- 
posure. In  his  opinion  Donald  A.  should  never  have 
been  recognized  by  the  party  again.  This  mental 
attitude  certainly  formed  the  foundation  of  an  in- 
superable barrier  to  the  realization  of  the  Railway 
syndicate's  aspirations  to  secure  the  Intercolonial 
Railway  as   a  free  gift. 

So  far  Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell  had  not  been  wanting 
in  loyalty  to  the  Pacific  Railway  syndicate  as  a  corpora- 
tion, but  he  had  been  equally  emphatic  in  denouncing 
the  desertion  of  Donald  A.  Smith  in  1872.  That  he 
would  be  a  party  to  the  proposal  to  present  the  Inter- 
colonial Railway  as  a  gift  to  the  syndicate  was  regarded 
as  beyond  the  range  of  possibility.  Therefore  as 
First  Minister  he  must  be  deposed.  How  this  was  to 
be  accomplished  was  a  problem.  Great  care  would 
have  to  be  exercised  to  prevent  such  a  political  crisis 
as  might  precipitate  the  downfall  of  the  whole  party. 
His  colleagues  were  sounded  as  to  the  possibility  of 
the  chief's  retirement,  and  their  report  was  that  he 
was  determined  to  remain  First  Minster  until  after 
the  then-approaching  elections. 

Then  determined  efforts  were  put  forth  with  the 
object  of  driving  him  out.  The  proceedings  at 
Cabinet  meetings  ceased  to  be  secret.  His  sugges- 
tions in  the  Privy  Council  Chamber  regarding  the 
policy  of  the  party  and  the  transaction  of  business 
in  Parliament,  then  assembled,  were  met  with  insulting 
laughter  and  scorn.  His  recommendations  for  appoint- 
ments to  vacancies  in  the  service  were  promptly  nega- 
tived.    No  Order-in-Council  which  he  introduced  was 


190  LORD   STRATHCONA 

passed.  For  weeks  the  Executive  Council  Chamber 
was  little  better  than  a  comic  opera.  Every  time  he 
called  the  Cabinet  together  it  was  to  receive  additional 
humiliation  and  insult  from  those  whom  a  stronger 
man  would  have  dismissed  at  once.  Public  business 
was  at  a  standstill.  All  shades  of  politicians  realized 
"  that  there  was  something  in  the  wind."  Meanwhile, 
Donald  A.  Smith  was  flitting  to  and  fro,  looking  as 
imperturbable  and  unconcerned  as  on  that  memorable 
occasion  in  1873  when  he  first  absorbed  all  the  lime- 
light on  the  scene. 

Within  the  inner  circle  it  was  well  known  that 
the  proposed  presentation  of  the  Intercolonial  Railway 
to  the  Pacific  Railway  was  making  progress.  Like  a 
bolt  out  of  a  clear  sky,  the  startling  information  was 
given  to  the  public  (1896)  that  seven  members  of  the 
Cabinet  had  tendered  their  resignations  to  the  Premier. 
It  was  thought  by  the  political  Jezebels  that  if  the 
First  Minister  would  look  upon  this  act  on  the  part  of 
his  colleagues  as  a  hint  that  he  no  longer  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  the  party,  he  might  be  replaced  by  a 
Premier  who  would  see  the  Intercolonial  Railway 
project  through  that  session.  The  influence  of  the 
syndicate  practically  dominated  both  the  Senate  and 
the  House  of  Commons  at  this  time.  Days  were 
succeeded  by  weeks,  and  still  the  cabal  continued. 

Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell  administered  the  affairs  of 
the  Government  with  less  than  half  a  Cabinet.  He 
declined  to  notify  the  Governor-General  officially  of 
the  resignations  of  his  colleagues,  although  the  humili- 
ating political  situation  was  discussed  in  both  Houses. 


THE  NEST  OF  TRAITORS  191 

He  sent  word  to  them  that  if  they  did  not  return  to 
their  portfolios  he  would  advise  the  Governor-General 
to  call  on  Wilfrid  Laurier  to  form  a  Government. 
They  knew  that  was  an  idle  boast,  and  they  had  only 
to  remind  him  that  such  an  action  would  bring  down 
on  his  head  more  bitter  maledictions  from  his  own 
party,  throughout  the  country,  than  had  been  poured 
out  on  the  traitors  of  1873.  They  refused  to  return. 
They  openly  boasted  that  they  "  would  drive  the 
old  dog  out."  At  the  same  time  he  was  referring  to 
them  in  the  most  public  manner  as  a  "  nest  of 
traitors." 

The  most  influential  personality  on  the  Govern- 
ment side  of  the  House  of  Commons  just  then  was 
Donald  A.  Smith.  He  may  not  have  been  admired 
by  the  rank  and  file  of  his  party  for  the  time  being, 
but  they  knew  his  power.  One  word  of  encourage- 
ment or  sympathy  from  him  and  BowelPs  Cabinet 
would  have  been  reorganized.  The  "  nest  of  traitors  " 
would  have  been  out,  Bowell  would  have  been  con- 
firmed in  his  position  as  Premier,  and  then  have  gone 
to  the  country  with  a  reorganized  and  probably  a 
fairly  strong  Cabinet. 

But  Donald  A.  Smith  had  not  forgotten  that 
memorable  scene  in  the  House  eighteen  years  previously 
when  his  associations  were  with  the  opposite  political 
party,  and  Mackenzie  Bowell  was  one  of  the  most 
active  in  hurling  insults  at  him  across  the  floor  of  the 
House.  And  the  consideration  might  also  have  had 
some  weight,  that,  if  the  Bowell  Cabinet  remained  in 
office,  the  Intercolonial  Railway  would  continue  in 


192  LORD   STRATHCONA 

the  Government  possession.  There  were  many  reasons 
why  the  cabal  should  be  allowed  to  succeed.  Donald 
A.  Smith  was  again  keeping  his  own  counsel. 

It  was  evident  that  the  Tory  party,  which  had 
proved  invincible  for  eighteen  long  years,  largely 
through  the  influences  of  Donald  A.  Smith  and  his 
colleagues,  was  fast  going  to  pieces.  The  canker- 
worm  had  eaten  into  the  body  politic  and  had  com- 
pletely destroyed  the  vitality  of  the  greatest  political 
party  that  Canada  had  seen  up  to  that  date.  Sir 
Charles  Tupper,  who  had  been  in  and  out  of  the 
position  of  High  Commissioner,  as  party  needs  dictated, 
and  whose  son  was  one  of  the  "  nest  of  traitors,"  was 
sent  for,  to  see  if  he  could  not  bring  about  a  better 
state  of  affairs.  On  his  arrival  he  proceeded  to  act 
as  intermediary  between  the  factions. 

Although  Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell  did  not  hold  the 
High  Commissioner  blameless  in  the  intrigues  to  get 
rid  of  him,  he  gracefully  accepted  the  inevitable,  and 
agreed,  if  the  "  traitors  "  would  return,  to  resign  the 
Premiership  as  soon  as  the  session  was  concluded. 
He  also  promised  that  he  would  then  advise  the 
Governor-General  to  send  for  Sir  Charles  Tupper  to 
form  a  Government.  The  Canadian  Pacific  magnates 
had  undoubtedly  won.  A  distinct  advance  had  been 
made  in  the  prospects  of  the  Intercolonial  Railway 
passing  out  of  the  possession  of  the  Government. 
A  Prime  Minister  who  might  have  stood  in  the  way 
had  been  deposed.  The  intriguers  knew  that  some 
Canadian  statesmen  could  be  approached,  but  Mac- 
kenzie Bowell  was  not  among  the  number. 


XXI 

A  satisfactory  First  Minister — Fishing  for  forty  millions — Sir  Donald 
as  High  Commissioner — Laurier's  political  strength — Stirring  up 
religious  strife — Hierarchy  recognized  by  the  state — Laurier 
successful — The  coming  Prime  Minister. 

On  the  accession  of  Sir  Charles  Tupper  to  the  Premier- 
ship, coincident  with  the  dissolution  of  Parliament, 
Sir  Donald  A.  Smith  was  appointed  to  the  position 
of  High  Commissioner  for  Canada  in  London.  He 
had  previously  been  knighted  on  the  recommendation 
of  Lord  Aberdeen.  The  announcement  that  the  new 
knight  would  take  up  his  residence  in  London  as  the 
official  representative  of  the  Dominion,  was  received 
with  mingled  feelings.  It  was  believed  that  his 
enormous  wealth  would  be  freely  expended  at  the 
heart  of  the  Empire  in  bringing  Canada  to  the  front, 
and  that  he  would  soon  become  a  not  unimportant 
figure  in  official  circles.  But  at  the  same  time  it 
was  well  known  that  Donald  A.  Smith  had  never  taken 
any  action  in  his  life  that  was  not  the  subject  of 
cautious  calculation  beforehand.  The  routine  of  the 
London  office  could  have  no  possible  attraction  for 
him,  nor  yet  its  official  character,  unless  there  were 
other  considerations.     As  to  whether  there  were  any, 

the  public  was  left  to  conjecture.  In  his  connection 
n  193 


194  LORD   STRATHCONA 

with  the  politics  of  Canada  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith  had 
always  carried  his  cards  up  his  sleeve.  It  was  known 
in  an  inner  circle  that  he  was  not  adopting  on  this 
occasion  a  policy  inconsistent  with  that  characteristic. 

The  preliminary  arrangements  for  the  passing  of 
the  Intercolonial  Railway  over  to  a  syndicate  in  the 
interests  of  the  Pacific  Railway  had  advanced  to  such 
a  point  as  to  justify  the  London  market  being  sounded 
on  the  question  of  bonding  the  line.  The  amount 
that  it  was  thought  might  be  raised  was  between 
thirty  and  forty  million  dollars  (six  or  eight  million 
pounds  sterling) ;  the  latter  figure  was  finally  decided 
upon.  The  report  received  by  the  prospective  bene- 
ficiaries in  Canada  from  London  was  that,  with  a 
representative  in  the  office  of  the  High  Commissioner 
in  London  who  was  friendly  to  the  project,  all  the 
money  that  was  needed  could  be  easily  secured.  There 
could  be  no  better  selection  for  the  position,  in  the 
opinion  of  those  who  wanted  to  see  the  project  go 
through,  than  the  highly  respected  original  backbone 
of  the  syndicate,  Sir  Donald  Smith,  and,  moreover,  he 
had  long  been  considered  the  Ahab  in  the  suggested 
transaction.  It  was  calculated  that  with  forty  million 
dollars  in  cash  or  Intercolonial  Railway  bonds,  allowing 
a  reasonable  margin  for  "  expenses  "  of  the  character 
that  had  been  necessary  in  previous  Government 
transactions,  there  would  still  be  over  thirty  millions 
of  dollars  for  their  own  pockets. 

This  particular  syndicate  had  learned  through 
twenty  years'  association  with  Canadian  politics  that 


EMBRACING   OFFICIAL   LIFE  195 

certain  opportunities  to  those  who  have  power  seldom 
come  more  than  once  in  a  lifetime.  But  when  they 
do,  the  value  of  services  on  the  second  occasion  are 
higher  than  on  the  first.  Those  having  this  matter 
in  charge  well  considered  this  phase  of  the  question. 
As  was  said  by  Lord  Clive,  when  he  heard  his  offences 
enumerated  in  the  House  of  Lords,  that  he  was  amazed 
at  his  own  moderation ;  so  certain  members  of  the 
syndicate  had  reason  to  measure  not  a  few  Canadian 
politicians  by  their  previous  illuminating  experience — 
expensive  lessons,  but  enduring.  They,  therefore, 
intended  to  exercise  every  care  to  make  sure  of  their 
own  haul  out  of  the  sale  of  the  bonds,  before  handing 
the  railroad  over  to  the  management  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific.  So  satisfied  was  the  clique  that  the  oracle 
could  be  worked  that  a  prospectus  was  printed,  and 
everything  arranged  to  make  a  public  issue.  One- 
half  of  the  bonds  were  to  be  taken  by  the  syndicate. 

Sir  Donald  A.  Smith  found  himself  in  London  as 
High  Commissioner  for  Canada — the  highest  position 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Dominion  Government — the 
official  representative  of  the  country  to  which  he  had 
emigrated  as  a  friendless  lad  sixty  years  before.  In 
that  western  country  he  had  played  for  heavy  stakes, 
both  in  the  western  States  and  in  Canada,  and  he  had 
won ;  but  in  the  game  of  chance  or  skill  he  had  not 
yet  won  his  last  trick.  He  could  count  upon,  as 
the  instruments  of  his  will,  many  men  who  had  ranked 
as  brilliant  statesmen.  Perhaps  some  in  the  wider 
field  of  Imperial  politics  would  have  been  more  careful 


196  LORD   STRATHCONA 

of  their  own  honour,  and  the  permanent  interests 
of  their  country.  And  he  had  met  statesmen  in  the 
Canadian  Parliament  whose  sense  of  honour,  and  love 
for  their  adopted  country's  future,  had  made  it 
impossible  for  him  to  use  them  for  the  advancement 
of  his  personal  interests. 

One  wonders  whether  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith  ever 
reflected  if  all  that  he  had  won  was  worth  what 
it  had  cost.  He  and  his  colleagues  had  gone  through 
fire,  though  not  of  the  sort  that  purifies.  They  had 
fought  many  battles,  and  had  come  forth  with  colours 
flying  and  ranks  intact.  What  mattered  it  to  them, 
that  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Atlantic  the  country 
was  dotted  with  the  political  tombstones  of  those  who, 
struggling  to  protect  the  public  interest,  determined 
to  hold  fast  their  integrity,  never  wavering  in 
their  patriotic  belief  in  the  great  future  of  their 
country,  ever  standing  firm  in  opposing  the  syndicate, 
had  been  wiped  out  of  existence  ?  At  this  moment 
a  Government  was  in  power  which  was  to  a  greater 
extent  his  individual  creation  than  any  of  the  several 
with  which  he  had  had  experience.  If  this  administra- 
tion could  be  successful  at  the  pending  elections,  the 
Intercolonial  Railway  stood  a  good  chance  of  falling 
into  the  capacious  maw  of  the  great  railway  syndicate 
which  he  had  brought  into  existence,  What  were  the 
Canadian  electors  likely  to  do  ?  That  was  the  problem 
that  was  awaiting  solution.  Sir  Charles  Tupper  was 
Premier,  and  if  he  was  successful  at  the  polls,  he 
would  certainly  dominate  his  Cabinet.     He  would  not 


EFFORTS  TO   WORK  THE   CHURCH      197 

tolerate  intriguers  as  Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell  had  done. 
No  Canadian  politicians  had  better  cause  to  under- 
stand each  other  than  the  High  Commissioner  and  the 
First  Minister  of  Canada.  They  had  exchanged  con- 
fidences in  the  early  'seventies  such  as  few  men  give  one 
to  the  other.  They  had  fought  like  Kilkenny  cats  on 
that  memorable  occasion  in  the  House  of  Commons 
in  1878  until  scarcely  the  tails  of  personal  reputations 
were  left.  But  Sir  Charles  Tupper  was  not  Scotch, 
he  had  a  forgiving  nature,  and  had  long  since  forgiven 
the  "  treachery  of  1873."  Lord  Strathcona,  although 
he  was  Scotch,  always  pardoned  offences  if  the  offender 
would  serve  him  later.  With  such  charmingly  diversi- 
fied dispositions  it  would  be  a  pity  if  they  could 
not  agree ! 

Surely  the  fates  were  propitious.  Wilfrid  Laurier 
was  leading  the  Liberals  apparently  on  a  forlorn  hope. 
The  clergy  in  Quebec,  Laurier's  own  province,  were 
believed  to  be  unfriendly,  and  the  Pacific  Railway 
organization  set  to  work  systematically  to  inflame  the 
Catholic  electors  against  him.  The  managing  director 
of  the  railway,  Mr.  (now  Sir)  Thomas  Shaughnessy, 
recently  an  American  citizen,  was  an  ardent  adherent 
of  the  Mother-Church.  He  could  prove  his  de- 
votion to  the  Church,  if  not  the  earnestness  of 
his  religion,  by  his  strenuous  opposition  to  Laurier, 
the  Liberal,  and  at  the  same  time  keep  a  watchful 
eye  on  the  interests  of  the  railway.  With  the 
railway  management,  as  with  the  operations  of  the 
syndicate,  politics  and  business  had  run  together  for 


198  LORD   STRATHCONA 


• 


many  years.  There  was  no  reason  to  suppose  that  a 
little  religion  should  not  prove  an  equally  good  running- 
mate. 

Another  reason  actuating  the  Pacific  Railway  opposi- 
tion to  the  Liberal  party  was  the  Royal  Commission, 
so  strongly  threatened  by  influential  Liberals,  to 
inquire  into  the  political  expenditures  of  the  company 
during  the  preceding  fifteen  years.  But  the  argument 
advanced  to  the  Catholics  why  they  should  vote  against 
the  Liberal  candidates  was  that  Laurier  had  opposed 
the  Remedial  Bill  which  the  Government  of  Sir 
Mackenzie  Bowell,  at  the  request  of  Archbishop 
Langevin,  had  introduced  to  Parliament.  This  mea- 
sure was  to  re-establish  separate  Catholic  schools 
in  Manitoba,  which  some  years  previously  had  been 
abolished  by  the  legislature  of  the  province.  It 
seemed  probable  that,  if  the  passions  of  the  electors 
could  be  appealed  to  successfully  on  religious  grounds, 
the  syndicate  might  ensure  the  defeat  of  the  Liberal 
party,  and  thus  avert  the  threatened  inquiry  into  the 
Augean  stable  of  political  corruption  in  which  the 
syndicate  had  revelled  since  1878.  It  was  a  sight  for 
the  gods — descendants  of  those  who  had  followed 
John  Knox  trying  to  find  a  hiding-phce  behind  the 
soutane  of  the  Roman  Catholic  hierarchy. 

The  contest  was  a  battle-royal.     In  almost  every 

constituency  in  Quebec  the  clergy,  moved  by  common 

impulse,  denounced  the  Liberal  candidates.1    To  an 

outsider  the  issue  must  have  seemed  inevitable,  and 

1  Appendix,  15. 


THE   POWER   OF  THE   CLERGY       199 

that  Laurier  could  win  in  the  face  of  such  overwhelming 
odds  an  impossibility. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  French  population 
in  Canada  is  truly  religious  above  everything  else. 
The  late  Monsignor  Stoke-Robinson  told  the  writer 
many  years  ago  that  they  are  regarded  in  Rome  as 
amongst  the  most  devout  in  the  entire  Catholic  world. 
They  have  little  use  for  one  of  their  own  faith  who  has 
too  liberal  views  in  religion.  Their  religious  fervour 
demands  entire  submission  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Church,  and  they  were  not  encouraged  to  discriminate 
between  Liberal  politics  and  Liberal  Catholicism. 

The  Church  had  been  accustomed  from  time 
immemorial  to  take  a  more  or  less  prominent  part 
in  the  politics  of  the  country.  Under  the  grand- 
monarque,  Louis  XIV,  the  right  of  the  Church  to  a 
seat  in  the  governing  council  was  acknowledged,  and 
the  authority  of  the  clergy  in  the  Government  of  the 
country  was  unquestioned  in  the  early  days  of  British 
rule,  as  in  the  treaty  ceding  Canada  to  Great  Britain 
their  rights  were  specially  recognized.  When  emis- 
saries from  the  American  revolutionists  in  1775  en- 
deavoured to  seduce  the  French  Canadians  from  their 
allegiance,  the  influence  of  the  clergy,  without  ex- 
ception, was  exercised  in  favour  of  the  British  Crown  ; 
and  on  the  occasion  of  the  rebellion  in  1837,  the  clergy 
denounced  the  action  of  Louis  Papineau,  the  leader 
of  the  malcontents  in  Lower  Canada,  and  his  followers. 
It  was  not  until  the  later  'seventies  that  clerical  inter- 
ference in  an  isolated  election  was  seriously  questioned, 


200  LORD   STRATHCONA 

but  in  the  meantime  the  breach  was  slowly  widening 
between  Ultramontanism,  represented  by  clerical 
interference  in  the  political  life  of  the  province,  and 
that  section  of  the  Church  which  thought  such  an 
attitude  on  the  part  of  the  clergy  inconsistent  with 
democratic  government. 

However,  in  spite  of  all  the  dust  thrown  up  by 
local  complications  and  religious  difficulty,  Laurier's 
supporters  never  wavered.  The  Liberal  leader's  atti- 
tude upon  the  Remedial  Bill  was  boldly  justified  on 
the  ground  that  the  subject  of  education  was  entirely 
within  the  rights  of  the  legislatures  of  the  provinces. 
To  admit  the  claim  that  the  Federal  Parliament  could 
force  a  system  upon  a  province  in  opposition  to  the 
expressed  will  of  the  people,  was  to  establish  a  pre- 
cedent at  Ottawa  that  might  be  quoted  some  day  as 
justification  for  interference  with  the  autonomy 
enjoyed  by  the  Catholics  of  Quebec.  There  might  be 
a  temporary  gain  by  the  adoption  of  the  Remedial  Bill, 
but  the  consequences  were  fraught  with  disastrous 
possibilities  in  the  future  from  even  the  Catholic 
point  of  view.  Laurier's  supporters  in  Quebec  pointed 
out  also,  to  enthusiastic  gatherings,  that  now  was  a 
chance  to  have  a  French-Canadian  and  a  Catholic 
as  Prime  Minister  in  an  English-speaking  and  largely 
Protestant  Dominion — an  opportunity  that  might 
never  occur  again.  This  appeal  to  the  pride  of  race 
proved  more  powerful  than  the  terrors  of  excom- 
munication threatened  by  so  many  of  the  clergy. 

Among  other  questions  of  interest,  not  the  least 


A  DYING  POLITICAL  PARTY  201 

was  the  general  opposition  to  the  part  the  syndicate 
persisted  in  taking  in  the  elections.  While  the 
individual  members  of  the  syndicate,  largely  repre- 
sented in  the  public  eye  by  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith  and 
Lord  Mount  Stephen  (formerly  George  Stephen),  both 
of  whom  were  pronounced  Imperialists,  the  manage- 
ment of  the  railway  was  really  in  the  hands  of  recently 
imported  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  had 
taken  the  short  cut  allowed  by  the  Canadian  laws  to 
become  full-fledged  "  British  subjects."  The  humilia- 
tion of  having  erstwhile  American  citizens,  very  recent 
at  that,  attempting  to  direct  the  politics  of  the 
Dominion  was  rather  a  noxious  dose  even  for  those 
Imperialists  who  were  not  occupying  the  seats  of  the 
mighty. 

The  public  resentment  against  this  open  and  un- 
reserved attitude  on  the  part  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
undoubtedly  helped  to  throw  the  balance  of  power 
into  Laurier's  hands  in  1896.  The  Tories  were  led 
by  Sir  Charles  Tupper,  one  of  the  ablest  statesmen 
Canada  has  produced.  He  had  been  kept  in  London 
by  the  jealousy  of  mediocrity.  He  was  sent  for  when 
it  would  have  been  easier  to  revivify  an  Egyptian 
mummy  of  the  time  of  Pharaoh.  The  Tory  party  was 
afflicted  with  dry-rot.  Nevertheless,  he  entered  the 
campaign  with  magnificent  courage,  and  boundless 
resource.  The  corporations  subsidized  by  the  Govern- 
ment and  an  army  of  officials  put  up  a  good  fight. 
Neither  the  Tory  party  nor  the  syndicate  could 
believe  other  than  that  a  miracle  had  happened  when 


202  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Laurier  carried  a  majority  in  almost  every  province. 
The  Tories  and  the  Ultramontanes  had  forced  the 
issue  in  Quebec,  and  they  were  hoist  by  their  own 
petard.  The  Liberal  candidates  swept  the  province 
like  an  avalanche,  notwithstanding  the  action  of  the 
clergy,  in  fact  even  assisted  by  it.  During  the  years 
that  the  Liberals  had  been  in  Opposition  a  new 
generation  had  arisen  in  public  life.  Laurier  was 
surrounded  by  a  galaxy  of  talent  such  as  Parliament 
had  not  seen  for  twenty-five  years.  The  Liberal 
victory  was  regarded  on  all  sides  as  a  red-letter  day 
in  the  history  of  Canada.  The  whole  country  was 
ripe  for  a  change,  and  great  things  were  expected  from 
the  coming  administration. 


XXII 

Donald  A.  changing  his  politics  again — Intriguing  against  Laurier's 
colleague — The  power  of  wealth — The  monetary  kings  win — 
Where  the  blow  fell — Ambitions  never  realized — Liberals  and 
the  hierarchy — An  appeal  to  Rome — Ultramontane  and  Orange 
— A  Papal  decree. 

If  the  syndicate  had  lost  by  the  defeat  of  the  party 
with  which  they  had  been  so  intimate,  the  next  best 
thing  was  to  make  friends  with  the  new  rulers  as  soon 
as  possible.  It  did  not  signify,  in  their  estimation, 
that,  because  they  had  expended  enormous  sums  of 
money  in  keeping  the  Liberals  out  of  power  at  Ottawa 
for  nearly  two  decades,  they  should  not  make  peace 
with  them  when  they  were  in.  They  did  not  allow 
any  false  sense  of  modesty  to  stand  in  the  way  of 
approaching  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  his  followers  with 
the  olive  branch ;  for  had  not  the  Liberal  leaders 
threatened  that  as  soon  as  they  came  into  power  they 
would  issue  a  Royal  Commission  to  inquire  into  all 
the  political  expenditures  authorized  by  the  syndicate 
and  the  Company  ?  It  was  bad  enough  to  have  their 
hopes  of  securing  possession  of  the  Intercolonial  Rail- 
way crushed,  as  had  certainly  been  done  by  the  defeat 
of  Sir  Charles  Tupper's  Government,  without  having 
to  face  an  exposure  that  would  "  stagger  humanity  " 

wherever  responsible  government  was  known. 

203 


204  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Those  who  had  become  honoured  and  distinguished 
knew  that  such  an  investigation  would  reveal  a  more 
demoralizing  state  of  affairs  than  the  exposure  of  the 
former  Pacific  scandal,  which  had  been  so  vehemently 
denounced  by  Donald  A.  Smith  in  1873.  They  were 
prepared  to  stand  the  loss  of  the  profits  which  might 
have  been  realized  by  the  Intercolonial  Railway  project 
going  through ;  but  none  could  stand  the  revelations 
shown  up  under  the  searchlight  of  a  Royal  Commission. 
Therefore,  no  time  must  be  lost  in  propitiating  the 
prospective  First  Minister.  They  all  knew  that 
Laurier's  ideals  of  public  life  were  too  high  to  allow 
influences,  such  as  they  were  accustomed  to  exercise, 
being  brought  into  operation.  However,  with  finan- 
ciers of  that  class  the  resources  of  wire-pulling  are 
seldom  exhausted. 

The  master-minds  of  the  intriguing  combination 
were  going  to  take  no  risks  by  placing  all  their  eggs 
in  one  basket — that  of  the  good-will  which  they 
hoped  might  be  cultivated  with  the  coming  First 
Minister.  Wilfrid  Laurier's  most  prominent  colleague 
was  Sir  Richard  Cartwright,  who  held  very  pro- 
nounced views  on  two  particular  subjects — the  tariff 
and  the  political  immorality  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
syndicate.  To  the  latter  he  attributed  the  flood  of 
corruption  that  had  swept  over  Canadian  politics 
since  1880.  He  was  more  insistent  than  any  other 
prominent  Liberal,  since  Edward  Blake's  retirement, 
in  threatening  an  investigation  under  Royal  Com- 
mission.    To  clip  Sir  Richard's  wings,  and  perhaps 


WIRE-PULLING  BY  THE   SYNDICATE     205 

crush  his  spirit,  was  regarded  as  essential.  In  early 
political  life  Cartwright  had  been  regarded  as  the 
rising  hope  of  the  Tories,  but  he  afterwards  found 
himself  out  of  sympathy  with  his  leader.  With  the 
single  exception  of  Sir  Francis  Hincks  there  has  been 
no  one  in  Canada  with  the  peculiar  aptitude  for 
Government  finance  that  Cartwright  possessed.  He 
had  been  Finance  Minister  in  Alexander  Mackenzie's 
administration  from  1873  to  1878.  No  one  else  was 
thought  of,  during  the  long  years  between  1878  and 
1896,  as  head  of  the  Treasury  in  a  prospective  Liberal 
Government.  In  every  suggestion  about  the  pro- 
spective personnel  of  the  Laurier  Cabinet,  Sir  Richard 
Cartwright's  name  appeared  as  Minister  of  Finance. 
It  was  the  accepted  view. 

But  there  were  breakers  ahead,  undreamed  of  by 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  party.  A  Liberal  member 
of  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  party  whip,  Mr. 
James  Sutherland — who  was  personally  unfriendly  to 
Cartwright,  and  who  was  known  to  have  very  intimate 
relations  with  the  Pacific  syndicate — organized  a  depu- 
tation of  official  representatives  from  all  the  Banks  for 
the  purpose  of  protesting  to  Wilfrid  Laurier  against 
the  appointment  of  Sir  Richard  Cartwright  as  Finance 
Minister.  The  principal  reason  given  was  his  alleged 
advocacy  of  a  reduction  in  the  tariff.  The  deputation 
claimed  that  Cartwright's  appointment  would  create 
uneasiness  in  manufacturing  and  financial  circles, 
as  indicating  drastic  changes  in  the  fiscal  policy  of 
the  country.     Laurier  defended  Cartwright  warmly, 


206  LORD   STRATHCONA 

pointing  out  that  the  Finance  Minister  under  the 
present  form  of  Government  had  no  more  authority 
to  effect  changes  in  the  tariff  than  any  other  individual 
member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  that  the  tariff,  in  what- 
ever changes  might  be  proposed,  would  be  the  policy 
of  the  Government  as  a  whole.  The  bankers,  how- 
ever, had  not  come  to  argue,  but  to  act.  They 
finally  declared  that  if  Sir  Richard  was  given  the 
portfolio  of  Finance,  they  would  immediately  with- 
draw all  their  call  loans,  amounting  to  $125,000,000 
(£25,000,000)  and  thus  bring  on  a  financial  crisis. 

Wilfrid  Laurier  did  not  realize  his  power  at  the 
moment,  and  indeed,  perhaps,  it  was  not  sufficient  at 
that  time.  In  later  years  he  would  have  certainly 
treated  such  an  audacious  threat  with  the  contempt 
that  it  deserved.  But  he  then  yielded  to  the  monetary 
magnates,  and  regretfully  decided  to  meet  their  views. 
He  felt  he  could  not  afford  to  have  his  Government 
face  to  face  with  a  commercial  crisis  on  the  threshold 
of  its  existence.  Another  might  have  taken  the  risk. 
It  is  needless  to  discuss  the  reply  which  would  be 
given  to  a  deputation  of  that  kind  by  a  British  states- 
man, or  even  the  possibility  of  such  a  deputation  being 
organized  in  Great  Britain.  Cartwright  did  not  get 
the  portfolio  of  Finance,  and  the  ambitions  and  hopes 
of  eighteen  years  were  blasted.  Both  the  Canadian 
Pacific  and  the  manufacturers  had  scored  in  the  first 
round  with  the  victorious  Liberal  party. 

Wilfrid  Laurier's  caution  at  this  critical  period  was 
prompted  by  no  want  of  loyalty  to  a  faithful  colleague. 


A  VICTIM   OF   INTRIGUE  207 

His  esteem  for  Cartwright  amounted  almost  to  affec- 
tion. He  was  genuinely  anxious  to  protect  Cart- 
wright  from  the  tide  of  adverse  influences  that  were 
being  so  cleverly  engineered.  But  he  was  strongly 
advised  to  surrender  by  two  very  intimate  and  trusted 
confidantes.  They  were  both  Scotch — one  was  thor- 
oughly honest  in  his  fears  and  the  other  was  not.  One 
was  Sir  Oliver  Mowat,  the  most  timorous  and  con- 
scientious of  statesmen,  and  among  whose  Tory  and 
official  social  surroundings  in  Toronto  there  was  no 
sympathy  with  Cartwright,  the  aristocratic  Liberal. 
The  other  was  Mr.  James  Sutherland,  M.P.,  the 
organizer  of  the  deputation,  whose  close  intimacy  with 
the  syndicate  was  not  so  well  known  then.  It  was  a 
different  Laurier  whom  a  party  cabal  met  twelve 
years  later,  when  Cartwright  had  almost  ceased  to  be 
a  political  force.  Then,  when  they  requested  the 
Prime  Minister  to  replace  him  with  younger  blood,  his 
reply  was  briefly :  "  No,  Cartwright  will  be  my  colleague 
as  long  as  he  desires  to  remain  in  public  life." 

Sir  Oliver  Mowat  was  in  Montreal  when  the  deputa- 
tion met  Laurier,  and  wrote  to  one  of  his  colleagues 
suggesting  that  the  writer  should  see  Sir  Richard  at 
Kingston,  inform  him  of  what  was  going  on,  and  tell 
him  what  was  likely  to  be  Wilfrid  Laurier's  decision. 
Sir  Richard  was  calmly  waiting  the  current  of  events 
in  his  delightful  home  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, just  where  the  waters  of  the  Great  Lakes  enter 
the  river.  The  news  of  the  intrigue  was  like  a  bolt 
out  of  a  clear  sky.     Nothing  of  the  kind  had  been 


208  LORD   STRATHCONA 

eVen  dreamed  of.  The  blow  was  staggering.  The 
writer  can  never  forget  that  sight  of  a  strong  man 
suddenly  crushed.  Silently  we  went  out  on  the  lawn 
down  to  the  water's  edge  while  he  tried  to  recover 
himself.  At  last  his  spirit  flamed  up  and  asserted 
itself  as  he  exclaimed  passionately :  "  This  is  the 
syndicate.  They  are  hiding  behind  the  manufac- 
turers.    The  Banks  dare  not  carry  out  their  threat ! 

It  is  a  vile  plot !     Laurier  cannot,  cannot "  he 

added  brokenly.  However,  subsequent  events  proved 
the  inevitable.  Cartwright  accepted  the  portfolio  of 
Trade  and  Commerce,  but  he  was  never  the  Cart- 
wright  of  old  again.  For  eighteen  years  he  had  spared 
neither  time,  energy,  nor  fortune  in  his  party's  interest. 
His  private  affairs  had  not  received  his  personal  atten- 
tion. His  sacrifices  on  this  point  had  been  immense. 
He  had  dreamed  dreams  of  bringing  about  more 
intimate  political  and  commercial  relations  with  the 
Mother-country ;  and  perhaps,  also,  for  playing  a 
leading  part  in  negotiations  for  closer  ties  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States — an  English- 
speaking  alliance  as  an  influence  among  the  Great 
Powers.  These  were  aspirations  worthy  of  the  highest 
ideals  of  Imperial  statesmanship.  But  this  ambition 
was  shattered,  and  became  lifeless  under  the  new 
conditions.  A  great  mind  that  had  seen  Imperial 
visions,  narrowed  into  bitterness,  resentment  and 
jealousy.  The  political  python  which  had  crushed 
the  aspirations  of  scores  of  prominent  Liberals  during 
the  preceding  sixteen  years,  whose  only  offence  was 


CRISIS  IN  POLITICAL  LIBERTY         209 

their  love   of   country,   had   found   another   victim. 
But  far  worse  was  yet  to  follow. 

After  the  election,  the  Liberals,  smarting  under  the 
clerical  denunciations  to  which  they  had  been  sub- 
jected, resolved  upon  drastic  measures  to  prevent 
their  recurrence.  Truly  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
in  organizing  the  Church  campaign  against  Laurier 
and  in  fanning  into  flame  the  smouldering  embers  of 
religious  intolerance,  had  built  up  the  cause  of 
Canadian  political  liberty  better  than  they  knew.  It 
was  realized  on  all  sides  that  a  crisis  had  been  reached, 
between  those  in  the  Church  who  supported  clerical 
participation  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  country, 
and  those  who  thought  the  time  had  come  when  such 
a  course  was  inconsistent  with  democratic  govern- 
ment ;  the  latter  claimed  to  represent  the  vast  majority 
of  the  Catholic  electors  in  Laurier's  native  province. 
Shortly  after  the  formation  of  the  Laurier  Govern- 
ment a  meeting  was  called  of  all  the  Catholic  repre- 
sentatives of  Quebec.  The  influential  character  of 
the  conference  stands  unquestioned — Wilfrid  Laurier 
and  his  Catholic  colleagues  of  the  Federal  Cabinet, 
Senators  and  Members  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
Sir  Louis  Gouin,  Premier  of  Quebec,  and  his  colleagues, 
and  Members  of  the  Legislative  Council  and  of  the 
Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Province.  No  country 
over  which  the  successor  of  the  First  Bishop  of  Rome 
exercises  spiritual  sway  could  bring  together  more 
devoted  adherents  of  the  Church.  Among  them  were 
statesmen  who  were  destined  to  stamp  their  personality 


210  LORD   STRATHCONA 

upon  the  history  of  Canada  to  a  degree  far  exceeding 
that  of  any  who  had  gone  before,  and  whose  adminis- 
tration of  the  public  service  would  bring  about  a 
national  development  heretofore  unparalleled  in  the 
life  of  the  Dominion.  It  was  resolved  to  memorialize 
the  Sacred  College  of  the  Propaganda  at  Rome.  The 
signatories  were  all  Catholics  fervently  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  Church.  They  represented  the 
great  majority  of  the  Catholic  population  of  the 
province.  They  claimed  that  the  right  to  political 
liberty  was  not  inconsistent  with  the  spiritual  life  of 
the  Church.  They  viewed  with  alarm  the  increasing 
strain  that  must  be  inevitable  between  the  parishioners 
and  the  clergy  by  a  continuation  of  the  extraordinary 
political  activity  of  the  hierarchy  so  recently  evident 
throughout  the  province,  and  they  humbly  prayed 
that  the  subject  might  receive  the  attention  of  the 
Holy  See.1 

The  Ultramontane  wing  of  the  Church  was  up  in 
arms  at  the  unparalleled  audacity  of  the  Liberal  party, 
steps  being  immediately  taken  to  prevent  the  official 
acceptance  of  the  memorial  at  Rome.  And  for  a  time 
it  looked  as  if  they  might  succeed.2  But  Laurier  and 
his  associates  had  taken  the  bit  in  their  teeth,  and 
were  not  going  to  be  turned  from  their  purpose.  In 
fact  they  were  more  determined  to  press  the  matter. 
Laurier  was  no  longer  the  leader  of  a  forlorn  hope  in 
a  Parliamentary  minority.  He  was  a  Prime  Minister 
of  a  great  Colony,  recently  knighted  at  Queen  Victoria's 
Diamond  Jubilee,  and  had  been  the  social  and  political 
1  Appendix,  1 6.  2  Appendix,  17. 


AN  APPEAL  TO   ROME  211 

lion  of  the  last  London  season.  His  request  for  a 
hearing  at  Rome  was  not  as  a  voice  crying  in  the 
wilderness.  It  was  determined  to  reach  the  Great 
Head  of  the  Church  himself,  Leo  XIII,  whom  the 
world  now  recognizes  as  a  great  statesman  and 
diplomat,  with  the  memorial.  The  good  offices  of 
Lord  Russell  of  Killowen  and  other  prominent 
British  Catholics  were  secured,  and  eventually  His 
Holiness  was  made  aware  of  the  serious  position  of 
the  Church  in  that  part  of  the  Catholic  world  where 
her  supremacy  had  hitherto  given  no  cause  for  anxiety 
to  the  careful  watchmen  on  the  towers  of  Rome. 

To  the  Protestant  world,  in  which  sectarian  issues 
also  become  sometimes  acute,  the  subsequent  events 
in  the  province  of  Quebec  are  of  more  than  ordinary 
interest.  In  the  then  recent  elections  in  Canada 
the  great  bulk  of  the  Catholic  clergy  had  supported 
the  Tory  candidates,  who  in  turn  were  political 
followers  of  Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell,  the  late  Dominion 
Prime  Minister  and  the  acknowledged  head  of  the 
Orange  Order.  Not  a  few  had  been  threatened  with 
excommunication  from  the  Church  as  the  penalty  of 
voting  for  the  Laurier  candidates.  Lord  Londonderry, 
Sir  Edward  Carson,  or  Captain  Craig  never  expressed 
themselves  more  fearful  of  Catholic  domination  or 
Rome  Rule  than  had  Sir  Mackenzie  Bowell  in  his 
1 2th  of  July  orations.  Yet  Orange  and  Ultramontane 
had  walked  arm-in-arm  to  the  polls  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Once  again  they  managed  to  find  common 
ground  upon  which  to  attack  Laurier.  Both  de- 
nounced his  appeal  to  Rome — Orange  alleging  that 


212  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Laurier,  by  the  memorial  of  the  Liberal  Catholics, 
formally  admitted  the  right  of  the  Holy  See  to  political 
jurisdiction  in  Canada;  and  Ultramontane  alleging 
Laurier's  determination  to  undermine  the  authority 
of  the  Church  in  his  native  province. 

Meanwhile  events  were  moving  at  Rome,  regardless 
of  influences  at  work  within  and  without  the  Sacred 
College.  His  Holiness  appointed  the  present  Secretary 
of  State  at  the  Vatican,  Cardinal  Merry  Del  Val,  as 
Papal  Legate  to  Canada  to  investigate  the  whole 
matter.  This  representative  of  the  Church  was  the 
youngest  priest  ever  sent  on  such  an  important  mission. 
It  may  not  be  for  a  Protestant  to  express  any  opinion 
about  his  fitness  for  the  post  to  which  he  was  appointed  ; 
but  the  wisdom  of  the  selection  was  never  questioned 
in  French  Canada.  Of  Spanish  descent,  educated  in 
England,  presenting  a  most  charming  personality,  he 
mingled  freely  with  all  the  different  factions  in  Canada 
for  a  year.  During  his  residence  there  the  slightest 
hint  of  the  trend  of  his  thoughts  never  reached  the 
leaders  on  either  side.  But  shortly  after  his  return  to 
Rome  a  pronunciamento  was  issued  by  Leo  XIII 
prohibiting  further  active  participation  by  the  clergy 
in  the  political  affairs  of  the  country.  By  this  decision 
the  Church  gave  another  illustration  of  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  Lord  Macaulay 
in  his  review  of  Ranke's  History  of  the  Popes.  And  this 
all-important  struggle  for  political  liberty  in  which 
Laurier  gained  the  hall-mark  of  Church  authority 
upon  his  victory,  is  the  most  vivid  illustration  of  the 
"  biter  bitten  "  it  would  be  possible  to  find  in  any  history. 


XXIII 

Making  peace  with  the  new  ruler — The  threatened  Royal  Com- 
mission— Laurier  and  Sir  Donald — A  seat  with  the  Peers — Cecil 
Rhodes  and  Strathcona. 

Before  Wilfrid  Laurier  realized  what  was  taking  place, 
immediately  following  the  satisfactory  returns  from 
the  polls,  he  found  himself  burdened  with  congratula- 
tory cables  and  telegrams  from  many  through  whose 
opposition  he  had  suffered  for  eighteen  years.  And  not 
the  least  important  were  from  those  connected  with  the 
Pacific  Railway.  Canadian  contractors  have  a  reputa- 
tion for  changing  their  politics  as  quickly  as  the  personnel 
of  Governments.  But  members  of  the  old  syndicate 
did  not  wait  for  the  change  to  take  place.  They  out- 
distanced the  contractors  by  weeks.  Thus,  long  before 
Laurier  was  summoned  by  the  Governor-General  to 
form  a  Cabinet,  leading  Liberals  were  loaded  down 
with  the  proffered  support  of  erstwhile  opponents. 

It  became  evident  to  the  public  from  the  beginning 
of  the  Liberal  rSgime^  that  the  prospect  of  the  oft- 
threatened  Royal  Commission  of  Inquiry  into  the 
political  character  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway 
taking  place  was  problematical.  Wilfrid  Laurier  was 
taken  in  the  flush  of  victory,  just  at  the  time  when 

one  is  inclined  to  be  at  peace  with  the  world,  and 

213 


214  LORD   STRATHCONA 

magnanimity  is  one  of  Laurier's  strong  characteristics. 
It  was  only  necessary  to  offer  friendship  to  secure 
forgiveness.  He  needed  to  be  more  than  ordinarily 
magnanimous  to  have  forgiven  so  readily,  for  he  had 
much  to  forgive,  and  but  few  of  his  party  approved 
of  the  course  he  adopted.  Had  he  known  the  full 
measure  of  his  strength,  and  the  public  conviction 
behind  him  which  had  put  him  in  power,  perhaps 
he  would  not  have  been  so  easily  overcome.  And  if 
the  course  had  been  taken  that  the  circumstances 
justified,  he  would  have  saved  Canada  from  not  a  few 
pitfalls  in  the  years  to  come. 

The  High  Commissioner  in  London  has  always 
occupied  the  most  confidential  relationship  with  the 
Cabinet  at  Ottawa.  The  position,  hitherto,  had  been 
filled  by  a  political  associate  of  the  Government  of 
the  day.  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith  had  only  been  in  the 
office  a  few  weeks  when  the  Tupper  Government 
which  had  appointed  him  was  defeated  at  the  polls. 
Sir  Charles  Tupper  immediately  cabled  Sir  Donald 
A.  Smith,  urging  him  not  to  tender  his  resignation, 
following  his  cable  with  a  letter  strongly  suggesting 
to  the  High  Commissioner  to  act  on  his  advice.  The 
reasons  for  this  course  are  fairly  obvious.  With  Sir 
Donald  A.  Smith's  appointment  as  High  Commissioner 
confirmed  by  the  new  Government,  the  threatened 
inquiry  into  the  political  relations  between  the 
syndicate  and  the  Tory  party  might  be  made  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible.  The  Tory  leader,  Sir 
Charles  Tupper,  knew  that  it  was  most  desirable  that 


HIS   ABSENCE   DESIRED  215 

such  an  inquiry  should  be  avoided  at  all  costs.  It 
was  only  natural  to  believe  that,  if  the  head  of  the 
syndicate  became  an  official  of  the  new  Government, 
there  would  be  no  inquiry.  But  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith 
had  a  stronger  sense  of  the  proprieties  of  the  situation 
than  his  political  chief,  Sir  Charles  Tupper,  and  he 
offered  his  resignation  to  the  Government.  Wilfrid 
Laurier  must  have  known  that  there  was  no  more 
dangerous  political  power  in  Canada  than  Sir  Donald 
A.  Smith.  He  was  especially  to  be  feared  because  he 
never  ventured  into  the  open.  All  his  influence  was 
exerted  in  the  background.  Perhaps  Laurier  thought 
that  by  keeping  him  out  of  Canada  there  might  be  an 
opportunity  of  raising  the  tone  of  Parliament,  which 
was  not  possible  with  the  chief  member  of  the  syndi- 
cate continually  in  evidence.  Perhaps  the  new  First 
Minister  may  have  been  anxious  to  conciliate  Sir 
Donald,  knowing  that  he  had  been  most  useful  as  a 
supporter  of  every  Government  which  had  existed  in 
the  Dominion  since  Confederation.  Certainly  no 
qualms  of  conscience  that  Sir  Donald  was  not  capable 
of  overcoming  would  prevent  his  accepting  with 
commendable  grace  the  advent  of  a  new  political 
party  at  Ottawa.  Laurier  may  have  believed  that  the 
influence  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  would  never  be 
turned  against  his  party  with  Sir  Donald  as  a  Govern- 
ment official,  and  it  was  quite  certain  that  the  shrewd 
head  of  the  syndicate  could  be  depended  upon  to 
remember  the  humiliation  of  his  removal  from  London 
by  a  substantial  contribution  to  the  Tory  party  funds. 


216  LORD   STRATHCONA 

The  Tories  had  convinced  themselves  that  Laurier's 
victory  was  an  accident  that  would  not  be  repeated. 
Five  years  in  the  life  of  a  party  are  but  as  a  day,  and 
they  thought  the  elections  of  1901  would  remedy 
the  catastrophe  which  had  overtaken  them.  In  the 
meantime  steps  were  taken  at  Montreal  to  induce  the 
Liberal  leader  to  allow  Sir  Donald  to  remain  in  London 
as  High  Commissioner.  He  was  himself  anxious  to 
get  into  the  good  graces  of  the  new  Cabinet,  and, 
with  his  growing  wealth  and  influence  was  becoming 
personally  and  officially  well  known  in  London.  Upon 
these  mutually  satisfactory  grounds  Sir  Donald  was 
confirmed  in  his  appointment  to  the  public  service  of 
the  Dominion  Government. 

But  the  syndicate  had  won  the  trick  in  the  new 
deal  of  cards.  The  threatened  investigation  became 
impossible.  Had  it  taken  place  it  is  inconceivable 
that  some  action  would  not  have  been  taken  by 
Parliament  to  prevent  a  continuance  of  such  influences 
being  exercised. 

In  the  Diamond  Jubilee  year  of  Her  late  Majesty, 
a  peerage  was  conferred  on  Sir  Donald  A.  Smith. 
The  journey  had  been  stormy  and  tempestuous  from 
the  bleak  shores  of  Hudson  Bay  in  1837  t0  a  seat  in 
the  Red  Chamber  of  the  British  aristocracy  sixty  years 
later,  1897.  The  British  race  has  always  recognized 
success,  and,  if  success  in  life  is  to  be  measured  by  the 
accumulation  of  wealth,  the  subject  of  this  honour 
was  worthily  recognized.  Charity  may  cover  a 
multitude   of   sins,  but    it    must   give  first  place  to 


HOME-COMING  TOO  LATE  217 

wealth.  The  new  peer  desired  to  assume  the  title  of 
Lord  Glencoe.  But  strong  protests  were  received 
from  countrymen  of  his  own  who  claimed  a  first 
interest  in  that  particular  title. 

At  this  time  Lord  Strathcona  secured  a  lease  of  a 
small  estate  originally  belonging  to  the  Macdonalds 
of  Glencoe,  including  the  ancestral  home.  This 
property  is  situated  on  the  west  coast  of  Scotland, 
near  Ballahulish.  Hard  by  stands  the  memorial  pillar 
that  was  erected  by  the  remnant  of  the  Macdonald 
clan,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  those  who  perished 
in  that  needless  and  heart-breaking  massacre  of  the 
Macdonalds  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Their  old  homestead  had  long  been  in  the  hands 
of  others.  The  representative  of  the  clan  had  been 
absent  in  distant  lands  for  many  years,  seeking  his 
fortune  with  his  star  of  hope  always  pointing  towards 
the  return  to  his  native  land.  His  dream  by  day  and 
night  was  to  rescue  the  home  of  the  clan  from  strangers, 
and  establish  again,  within  its  humble  walls,  the 
hospitality  of  his  ancestors.  This  had  been  his 
inspiration  as  he  slowly  gathered  sufficient  money 
to  realize  his  purpose.  But  he  delayed  his  home- 
coming a  few  weeks  too  late.  The  option  of  the 
property  had  passed  into  the  possession  of  the  new 
peer,  followed,  shortly  before  the  return  of  the  head 
of  the  clan,  by  the  title-deeds,  much  to  the  grief  and 
disappointment  of  the  remnant  of  the  Macdonalds. 
He  wanted  to  buy  it  from  the  new  owner,  but  the 
matter  had  gone  too  far  for  reconsideration.     Then 


218  LORD   STRATHCONA 

overlooking  the  old  homestead  at  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
and  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  famous  Glencoe  Pap, 
Lord  Strathcona  erected  a  magnificent  country  seat. 

Lord  Strathcona's  career  is  sometimes  coupled  with 
that  master  Empire  Builder,  Cecil  Rhodes.  For  many 
reasons  it  is  pardonable  to  say  that  there  is  little  to 
compare,  and  much  to  contrast,  not  only  in  their 
early,  but  also  in  their  later  careers.  Neither  was  a 
native  Colonial.  The  one  made  South  Africa,  the 
other  Canada,  his  adopted  country.  They  both 
accumulated  enormous  fortunes  in  the  lands  of  their 
adoption  ;  both  entered  public  life,  both  had  great 
private  interests  at  stake,  both  had  wonderful  capacity 
in  their  respective  spheres,  both  were  the  constant 
dread  of  their  opponents,  neither  ever  allowed  an 
opponent  to  cross  his  path  with  impunity. 

The  one,  young  in  years,  ranked  as  a  statesman  and 
a  leader  of  men  soon  after  he  entered  public  life ;  his 
vast  wealth  was  accumulated  beyond  the  influence  of 
legislative  enactment ;  his  personal  interests  never 
dominated  a  public  action ;  he  entered  the  open  lists 
with  his  personal  or  political  opponents,  with  true 
British  manliness ;  he  projected  a  great  railway  from 
the  Cape  to  Cairo,  but  not  with  a  suggestion  of 
personal  profit  thereby.  And  when  an  untimely 
death  cut  short  a  brilliant  career,  he  left  the  Parlia- 
mentary arena  in  South  Africa,  with  all  its  associations, 
as  free  from  stain  and  reproach  as  is  the  Parliament 
at  Westminster. 

The  other  entered  public  life  when  years  of  dis- 


CONTRAST   WITH   OTHER   COLONIES    219 

cretion  had  arrived  ;  he  was  in  no  sense  a  Parliamentary 
leader ;  his  private  interests  became  entangled  from 
the  beginning  with  the  politics  of  the  country; 
legislation  enacted  by  Parliament  added  vastly  to  his 
wealth  and  influence,  and  Parliamentary  machinery 
was  deliberately  used  to  attain  this  end.  His  personal 
interests  dominated  the  legislation  of  his  country ;  his 
opponents,  either  political  or  personal,  or  those  whom 
he  chose  to  place  in  that  category,  only  knew  of  his 
antagonism  towards  them  when  he  had  secretly 
obtained  their  defeat  or  ruin.  And  when  he  withdrew 
from  public  life,  he  left  a  Parliamentary  atmosphere 
thoroughly  vitiated  and  corrupt,  through  the  influences 
of  a  great  corporation  which  he  had  brought  into 
existence  and  of  which  he  had  been  the  controlling 
influence. 

In  South  Africa,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand,  by 
the  authority  of  Parliament,  enormous  expenditures 
have  been  incurred  in  the  construction  of  railways 
that  are  the  property  of  the  State.  There  is  no 
record  showing  that  the  public  men  of  those  Colonies 
participated  in  the  profits  associated  with  these  under- 
takings. Consequently,  the  humiliating  contrast, 
proved  by  the  Parliamentary  records,  in  connection 
with  railway  enterprises  in  Canada,  is  appalling  in 
the  extreme. 


XXIV 

Protecting  the  toilers — Opposition  to  rival  railway  lines — Knifing 
the  Government  policy — Standing  by  the  combine — What 
negligence  has  cost  Canada — Taking  the  farmer's  life  blood — 
Departmental  neglect. 

The  degree  of  gratitude  that  the  toilers  in  the  western 
provinces  owe  Lord  Strathcona  is  not  remarkable  for 
its  warmth.  With  his  associates  he  secured  the  only 
channel  in  the  United  States  through  which  the 
products  of  the  prairies  could  find  an  outlet  for  many- 
years.  He  also  obtained  control  of  the  Canadian 
charter,  and  secured  an  absolute  monopoly  of  all  the 
carrying  trade,  outward  and  inward,  of  the  whole 
western  country.  By  the  terms  of  the  agreement  with 
the  Government  the  syndicate  was  confirmed  in  this 
monopoly  for  twenty  years,  extensive  concessions 
relieving  the  corporation  from  the  payment  of  taxes 
and  rates  while  it  was  practically  allowed  to  charge 
the  most  extortionate  freight  rates — the  last-named 
privilege  being  exercised  to  the  fullest  extent.  Lord 
Strathcona  seems  not  to  have  troubled  himself  with 
this  aspect  of  the  case.  The  management  was  left 
to  the  control  of  imported  officials.  Presumably  he 
never  heard  about  the  complaints  by  the  western 
farmers  who  were  indeed  earning  their  bread  by  the 

sweat  of  their  brow.     Perhaps  it  was  a  mistake  on 

220 


PROTECTING   PERSONAL   INTERESTS   221 

the  part  of  the  victims  of  the  greed  of  the  great 
corporation  that  they  did  not  interview  him,  as  both 
the  United  States  lines  for  many  years  were  acting  upon 
an  agreed  schedule  of  rates  with  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
Discussions  took  place  in  the  Parliament  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  and  very  frequent  reports  of  this 
agitation  appeared  in  the  Press,  but  possibly  such 
complaints  escaped  his  observation. 

During  the  years  that  he  was  High  Commissioner 
questions  arose  of  an  equally  serious  character  to  the 
vast  body  of  the  toilers  in  Canada.  The  grain  pro- 
ducts of  the  west  had  increased  to  such  an  extent  that 
Parliament  was  forced  to  consider  the  construction 
of  other  transcontinental  railways.  These  projects 
would  open  new  territory,  and  furnish  railway  accom- 
modation in  many  necessary  directions.  But  they  also 
meant  competition  with  his  American  and  Canadian 
railways.  To  favourably  consider  the  means  of  pro- 
viding relief  to  the  overburdened  worker  who  was 
striving  against  great  odds  to  make  a  success  of  his  life, 
when  it  meant  loss,  however  insignificant  to  himself 
or  his  projects,  was  probably  expecting  too  much  from 
ordinary  human  nature.  At  any  rate  he  had  too  much 
to  do  to  give  thought  to  those  who  amid  the  loneliness 
of  those  boundless  prairies  were  seeking  the  hard- 
earned  bread  of  existence. 

Sir  William  Mackenzie  came  to  London  year  after 
year  with  securities  that  were  gilt-edged,  in  order  to 
push  on  the  construction  of  the  Canadian  Northern 
Railway.     But  the  financial  doors  were  closed,  when 


222  LORD   STRATHCONA 

a  word  from  the  "  Empire-Builder  "  who  represented 
Canada  as  High  Commissioner  would  have  made  all 
the  difference  at  that  time  between  failure  and  success ; 
although  Sir  William  Mackenzie  finally  won  in  spite 
of  the  opposition  of  the  High  Commissioner's  office. 
The  securities  he  disposed  of  have  long  since  proved 
their  intrinsic  value.  In  not  an  instance  have  the 
railway  projects  upon  which  they  were  issued  failed 
to  meet  annual  obligations,  nor  have  the  guarantors 
ever  been  called  on  for  any  part  of  the  responsibility 
they  assumed. 

And  yet  again.  The  emigration  flood  and  the 
opening  of  undeveloped  areas  convinced  the  Govern- 
ment that  the  third  transcontinental  railway  was  re- 
quired to  move  the  products  of  the  west  to  the  markets 
of  the  world.  Parliament  guaranteed  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  Railway  bonds,  and  they  were  offered 
in  the  London  market.  All  the  wealth  and  responsi- 
bility of  the  Dominion  stood  sponsor  for  the  issue. 
Consols  could  offer  no  better  security  for  investment. 
But  the  cold  shoulder  was  given  by  the  High  Com- 
missioner's office,  and  the  bonds  only  realized  83, 
entailing  a  loss  of  $6,000,000  (£1,200,000)  which  the 
Canadian  taxpayers,  by  the  decision  of  the  courts, 
had  to  make  good. 

During  Lord  Strathcona's  occupancy  of  the  London 
office  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  Company  estab- 
lished steamship  communication  between  Liverpool 
and  Montreal.  The  Company  immediately  entered 
into  a  binding  agreement  with  the  J.  Pierpont  Morgan, 


THE   STEAMSHIP   COMBINE  223 

the  Hamburg-American,  the  North  German  Lloyds 
and  other  foreign  companies  to  increase  the  passenger 
rates  to  North  American  ports,  so  as  to  exact  still 
higher  toll  from  the  masses  who  were  emigrating  to 
Canada  from  Great  Britain  and  the  Continent. 

These  increases  in  the  emigration  rates  during  the 
last  thirteen  years,  Lord  Strathcona  all  that  time 
being  High  Commissioner,  have  cost  the  struggling 
emigrants  to  the  Dominion  over  and  above  what  was 
regarded  as  a  fair  rate  in  pre-combine  times — 

From  the  Continent  .         .     $11,500,000       £2,300,000 
From  Great  Britain  .       32,500,000         6,500,000 

Total  .     $44,000,000       £8,800,000 

These  figures  represent  only  the  excess  above  the  rates 
available  before  the  establishment  of  the  combine. 
The  total  amount  in  excess  of  pre-combine  rates  paid 
by  poor  emigrants  from  the  continent  of  Europe  and 
Great  Britain  to  Canada  and  the  United  States,  in  the 
same  period,  exceeds  $90,000,000  (£18,000,000). 

How  far  this  enormous  sum  might  have  assisted  the 
emigrants  in  getting  a  start  in  a  new  country,  or  what 
suffering  and  hardship  it  might  have  avoided,  may  be 
left  to  the  imagination. 

A  steamship  agreement  has  also  gone  merrily  along 
whereby  the  freight  rates  on  British  goods  to  Canada 
have  been  increased  fourfold  as  an  "  encouragement  " 
of  the  commercial  relations  between  the  Dominion 
and  the  Mother-country.  Certain  natural  products 
that  find  a  market  in  this  country  pay  a  higher  freight 


224  LORD   STRATHCONA 

rate  from  Canada  than  the  same  commodities  from 
United  States  ports.  During  the  last  two  years  the 
freight  rates  on  grain  and  flour  from  Canada  to  Liver- 
pool have  been  doubled,  entailing  an  additional  cost 
for  transportation  annually  to  exporters  of  Canadian 
products  to  Great  Britain  of  $4,750,000  (£950,000). 
This  extra  cost  must  come  out  of  the  pockets  of  the 
Canadian  farmers. 

All  these  remarkable  incidents  have  taken  place 
during  Lord  Strathcona's  tenure  of  office  as  High 
Commissioner  for  Canada.  One  looks  in  vain  in 
departmental  documents  for  the  slightest  protest  by 
Lord  Strathcona  in  the  interest  of  the  Canadian  people 
against  these  enormous  demands.  The  cry  of  the 
western  farmer  staggering  under  the  load  which  demands 
so  large  a  share  of  his  corn  before  he  can  eat  his  bread — 
the  stolid  endurance  of  the  eastern  emigrant  who, 
with  only  hope  to  cheer  him  forward,  must  pay  so 
much  of  his  precious  savings  into  the  Combine,  before 
he  can  reach  the  Promised  Land — these  received  no 
consideration  from  the  "  Empire-Builder."  But  when 
these  struggling  masses  meet  on  the  fertile  stretches  of 
Western  Canada,  perhaps  they  will  find  that  Nature, 
at  least,  is  more  considerate,  giving  generously  for  trust 
and  work  and  love. 


XXV 

Starting  new  official  life — An  ancestral  mansion — The  ghosts  in 
every  room — Trouble  with  Agents-General — Sir  Claude  Mac- 
donald — Official  invitations — Resenting  interference. 

In  accepting  the  responsibilities  of  the  High  Com- 
missioner's office  Lord  Strathcona  set  a  pace  in  many 
ways  that  other  Canadians  will  be  wise  in  not  attempt- 
ing to  follow.  He  was  no  stranger  in  London,  having 
many  personal  and  financial  connections  outside  the 
Anglo-Canadian  colony.  As  soon  as  he  realized  that 
the  Intercolonial  deal  was  off,  and  that  the  papers 
that  had  been  prepared  were  useless,  he  adopted  a 
course  that  was  calculated  to  wipe  out  the  part  he 
had  played  in  the  political  life  of  the  Dominion  for 
twenty-five  years.  He  evidently  proposed,  by  enter- 
taining on  a  scale  hitherto  beyond  the  means  of  his 
predecessors,  to  create  an  entirely  new  atmosphere 
around  the  High  Commissioner's  office,  and,  if  possible, 
forget  his  political  experiences.  Official  business  was 
to  give  way  entirely  to  the  Goddess  of  Society,  who,  if 
at  times  fickle,  can  generally  be  propitiated  with  gifts. 
He  looked  around  for  a  country  residence,  where 
during  week-ends  he  might  entertain.  He  finally 
decided   upon  leasing  that   magnificent   Elizabethan 

mansion,  Knebworth,  the  ancestral  home  of  the 
p  225 


226  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Lyttons.  It  is  truly  a  lordly  pile.  The  walls  are 
decorated  with  family  portraits  of  statesmen  whose 
names  stand  out  in  bold  relief  in  the  honoured  roll  of 
British  history.  The  panoply  of  war,  ancient  armour 
and  weapons  of  defence  stand  in  the  stately  hall. 
The  banner  that  flaunted  in  the  breeze  when  Earl 
Lytton  held  the  Viceroy's  Durbar  at  Delhi  and  pro- 
claimed the  assumption  of  the  title  of  Empress  of 
India  by  Queen  Victoria  hangs  from  the  ancient 
rafters.  Within  the  beautiful  grounds  there  is 
much  to  remind  visitors  of  the  great  author  of  The 
Last  Days  of  Pompeii.  There  are  the  bedrooms 
which  were  occupied  by  Hampden,  Pym  and  Crom- 
well when  they  met  in  solemn  conclave  to  consider 
how  England  could  get  rid  of  a  tyrant  King  and  a 
corrupt  Parliament.  The  ghosts  and  memories  of 
these  noble  Puritans,  clamouring  for  a  Parliament 
free  from  all  sinister  influences,  and  legislation  only  for 
the  public  good,  was  strange  company  for  Donald  A. 
Smith  fresh  from  his  Canadian  experiences.  Yet, 
what  a  coincidence  !  They  had  made  history — so  had 
he.  And  here  for  ten  years  Lord  Strathcona  enter- 
tained right  royally.  Canadian  guests  rubbed  shoulders 
with  Royalty,  Peers,  and  Commoners.  The  annual 
gathering  became  one  of  the  notable  events  of  the 
Season,  and  the  sight  of  the  kindly,  venerable  sep- 
tuagenarian and  Lady  Strathcona  moving  graciously 
among  the  guests  will  ever  be  a  delightful  memory 
to  all  who  were  favoured  with  invitations  on  these 
occasions. 


TOLERATING  NO   OFFICIAL   RIVALS     227 

Lord  Strathcona,  after  he  had  been  in  office  two  or 
three  years,  decided  to  assert  his  position  as  the  only 
official  representative  of  Canada  in  London.  This 
attitude  placed  him  at  once  in  conflict  with  the 
Agents-General  of  the  provinces,  who  up  to  this  time 
had  been  also  acknowledged.  He  intimated  to  them 
that  they  were  without  official  standing,  as  their  title 
was  not  recognized  by  legislative  enactment ;  therefore, 
in  the  future  they  must  only  expect  to  be  recognized 
as  ordinary  persons.  The  late  Mr.  Duff-Millar,  Agent- 
General  for  New  Brunswick,  said  that  he  would  not 
submit  to  this  dictum.  In  view  of  the  approaching 
Season,  he  ordered  an  Agent-General's  uniform  from 
a  court  tailor.  The  tailor,  however,  with  official 
caution,  telephoned  to  the  High  Commissioner's 
office  for  information  about  the  bona-fides  of  his 
distinguished  customer,  and  was  informed  that  he 
had  no  locus  standi  in  official  circles.  Naturally  the 
paint  and  feathers  were  not  forthcoming  at  the 
appointed  time,  and  the  Agent-General  had  fain  to 
be  satisfied  with  his  ordinary  evening  suit. 

These  official  pretensions  suited  Lord  Strathcona 
admirably.  It  was  the  chief  factor's  jurisdiction  over 
again.  In  the  Canadian  wilds  he  could  not  prevent 
the  Indian  from  donning  his  paint  and  feathers,  but 
he  could  prevent  the  presumptuous  white  man  from 
doing  so  here.  This  was  the  first  appearance  of  a 
peculiar  trait  that  developed  later  in  a  more  pro- 
nounced form — an  intensely  jealous  spirit  towards 
everything  that  might  for  the  time  being  overshadow 


228  LORD   STRATHCONA 

the  High  Commissioner's  office.  The  appearance  of 
a  letter  in  a  newspaper  from  a  Canadian  official,  not 
under  his  jurisdiction,  would  immediately  cause  a 
scene.  He  made  more  than  one  trip  across  the 
Atlantic  for  no  other  reason  than  to  get  officials  whom 
he  did  not  like,  removed. 

Like  all  well-appointed  Government  offices  the 
High  Commissioner's  was  managed  upon  the  most 
up-to-date  red-tape  principles.  With  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Canadian  to  look  after  the  emigration  work 
of  the  offices,  all  inquirers  about  the  Dominion  were 
passed  on  to  this  official,  unless  it  was  made  certain 
that  they  were  not  "  common  folk,"  in  which  case 
they  had  the  doubtful  honour  ( ?)  of  an  interview  with 
an  official  of  the  permanent  staff.  Upon  one  occasion 
a  visitor  called  just  as  a  high-placed  official  entered 
the  office.  The  stranger  said  that  he  wanted  special 
information  about  Canada.  Before  he  could  say  any 
more,  and  without  turning  his  head  to  look  at  the 
inquirer,  the  official  called  to  a  messenger,  "  Take  him 
over  to  the  other  office."  He  was  brought  to  the 
writer's  office  with  the  curt  introduction,  "  Wants 
information  about  Canada."  The  visitor,  who  was 
dressed  in  a  plain  tweed  suit,  was  offered  a  chair.  He 
handed  the  writer  his  card :  "  Sir  Claude  Macdonald, 
His  Britannic  Majesty's  Ambassador  to  Japan."  Sir 
Claude  had  just  returned  from  that  ever  memorable 
heroic  defence  of  the  Embassy  at  Pekin  on  the  occasion 
of  the  Boxer  rising,  and  his  name  and  fame  were  in 
every  one's  mouth.     He  briefly  explained  that  he  was 


CURBING   SOCIAL  ASPIRATIONS         229 

leaving  for  Tokio  via  Vancouver,  and  wanted  a  private 
car  for  the  journey  across  Canada  ;  that  he  had  been  to 
Cooks',  and  to  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  but  could 
get  no  satisfaction.  "  From  the  High  Commissioner's 
office,"  he  laughingly  added,  "  I  have  been  referred 
to  you."  The  mistake  of  the  official  in  refusing  an 
interview  to  "  the  farmer-like  looking  chap,"  as  he 
afterwards  humbly  explained  to  Lord  Strathcona, 
was  only  on  a  line  with  the  usual  procedure  of  the 
office.  The  following  day  the  writer  was  able  to 
show  Sir  Claude  a  cablegram  from  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier 
conveying  the  assurance  that  a  Government  private 
car  would  be  at  his  disposal  on  his  arrival  in  Canada. 
When  all  the  arrangements  were  completed  I  showed 
the  cablegrams  to  Lord  Strathcona,  only  to  hear  his 
severe  comment :  "  You  had  no  right  to  do  this.  Sir 
Claude  Macdonald  should  have  come  to  me.  Cour- 
tesies of  this  kind  belong  to  my  office." 

The  experience  that  Lord  Strathcona  gained  on 
the  occasion  of  the  coronation  of  King  Edward  proved 
more  than  useful  when  King  George's  turn  came.  All 
applications  to  the  Lord  Chamberlain  for  invitations 
to  various  functions  were  transmitted  to  the  official 
representing  the  country  or  colony  with  which  the 
applicant  was  connected.  Therefore,  any  visitor 
from  Canada  had  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  revision  by 
the  High  Commissioner.  The  disappointments  were 
many.  Those  in  favour  had  the  inside  track.  Among 
those  to  whom  Lord  Strathcona  had  taken  a  strange 
dislike  was  the  manager  of  the  Bank  of  Montreal, 


230  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Threadneedle  Street,  now  Sir  Frederick  Williams- 
Taylor,  general  manager  at  Montreal.  Sir  Frederick's 
name  was  most  persistently  struck  out  of  every  list 
for  invitations  to  coronation  functions  by  Lord 
Strathcona.  Inquiries  only  elicted  the  reply :  "  The 
Lord  Chamberlain  says  that  his  list  is  complete." 
"  Commands "  were  out  for  a  Garden  Party  at 
Windsor  Castle.  Sir  Frederick  waited  impatiently 
for  his.  All  his  aristocratic  neighbours  were  invited. 
He  endeavoured  to  inquire  the  reason  for  the  delay 
from  the  official  secretary  of  the  High  Commis- 
sioner's office,  telling  the  attendant  at  the  'phone 
his  name  and  the  reason  why  he  wanted  to  speak  to 
the  official.  He  heard  a  voice,  which  he  recognized, 
say :  "  Tell  him  I  am  engaged  with  Lord  Strathcona 
just  now."  When  the  Bank  of  Montreal  finally  got 
into  connection  there  was  some  plain  talk.  The  result 
was,  however,  in  Lord  Strathcona's  opinion,  that  the 
office  had  been  "  insulted,"  and  Sir  Frederick  had  no 
longer  a  chance  of  any  invitation  to  coronation  func- 
tions through  the  office  of  the  High  Commissioner 
for  Canada.  But  Sir  Frederick  had  very  influential 
connections  outside.  His  name  was  placed  on  another 
list  for  everything  that  was  going,  Windsor  Castle, 
and,  later  on,  his  knighthood.  But  for  having 
succeeded  in  getting  behind  the  ordinary  official 
channels  he  was  never  forgiven  by  the  London 
representative  of  the  Canadian  Government. 

Any  interference  with  matters  that  Lord  Strathcona 
regarded  as  pertaining  to  his  official  preserve  was  most 


RESENTING   INTERFERENCE  231 

hotly  resented.  And  any  effort  to  get  the  ear  of  the 
Ottawa  Government,  except  through  his  office,  brought 
down  the  most  disastrous  consequences  on  the  innocent 
offender.  The  numerous  proposals  for  the  erection 
of  an  official  building  in  London,  unless  first  submitted 
to  him,  were  condemned  unhesitatingly  in  official 
letters.  An  enthusiastic  advocate  of  one  of  these 
Canadian  building  projects  presented  an  admirable 
proposal  to  the  Ministers  at  Ottawa.  He  was  advised 
to  return  to  London  immediately,  and  explain  it  to 
Lord  Strathcona  before  allowing  anything  to  appear 
in  the  Press.  But  in  an  evil  moment  he  took  an 
Ottawa  reporter  into  his  confidence,  the  news  was 
cabled  to  London,  and  when  the  promoter  interviewed 
Lord  Strathcona  he  was  politely  informed  that  as  he 
had  gone  to  Ottawa  without  consulting  the  High 
Commissioner's  office,  he  (Lord  Strathcona)  could 
not  now  entertain  it. 

Lord  Grey  made  arrangements  with  the  London 
County  Council  for  the  famous  island  site  on  Kings- 
way  without  first  consulting  Lord  Strathcona.  The 
usual  result  followed.  To  smooth  the  way  for  the 
acceptance  of  one  of  these  proposals  for  a  Canadian 
building  on  a  site  that  the  Government  was  considering, 
a  member  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's  Cabinet  suggested 
to  the  High  Commissioner  that,  if  it  was  a  good  move 
on  the  part  of  the  bank  with  which  he  was  connected 
to  erect  commodious  offices  in  Threadneedle  Street, 
why  should  not  Canada  do  likewise  ?  Lord  Strathcona 
replied  that  the  experience  of  the  bank  furnished  the 


232  LORD   STRATHCONA 

strongest  possible  argument  for  not  following  that 
example :  "  because,"  he  added,  "  since  we  moved 
into  that  building  the  officials  have  lost  their  heads. 
They  are  looking  for  nothing  but  social  distinction  and 
titles,  and  are  neglecting  their  duties." 

It  is  no  longer  a  secret  that  "  the  important  official 
communication "  that  Lord  Strathcona  insisted  in 
writing,  about  which  inspired  paragraphs  appeared  in 
the  Press  a  day  or  two  before  he  passed  away,  was  a 
long  letter  to  Ottawa  denouncing  in  somewhat  uncom- 
promising terms  all  the  proposals  that  had  been  sent 
to  Ottawa  from  time  to  time  through  unofficial 
channels  about  a  Canadian  building  in  London,  and 
strongly  advocating  the  adoption  of  the  recom- 
mendation that  he  had  submitted,  which  was  that 
the  site  of  the  Westminster  Hospital  should  be  pur- 
chased by  the  Dominion  Government,  and  that  it 
was  the  only  suitable  place  for  the  proposed  Canadian 
building. 


XXVI 

Personal  characteristics — Never  lacking  in  courage — Reputations 
destroyed — Development  of  Canada — Solving  the  emigration 
problem — Strathcona  threatened  with  arrest  in  Germany — Lord 
Salisbury's  warning — Posing  as  the  successful  emigration  worker 
— Hon.  Clifford  Sifton's  work — Assistance  of  British  Journalism 
— The  Coronation  Arch — Further  Imperial  honours. 

Amid  the  most  gloomy  and  discouraging  periods  in 
the  history  of  the  Pacific  Railway,  Lord  Strathcona 
never  doubted  but  that  a  brighter  dawn  would 
eventually  appear.  When  all  the  other  members  of 
the  syndicate  were  growing  prematurely  old  under  the 
severe  strain  of  hope  and  fear,  his  courage  never 
faltered.  Had  there  been  less  of  that  course  which 
can  only  be  condemned,  and  more  of  that  which 
was  commendable  in  the  internal  management,  there 
would  have  been  less  occasion  for  the  temporary 
trouble  that  overtook  the  Company. 

The  enormous  sums  that  were  expended  in  corrupt- 
ing the  body  politic  did  not  by  any  means  represent 
the  actual  cost  of  that  policy.  Those  moneys  only 
represented  the  direct  cost.  The  indirect  expense 
to  the  Company  and  syndicate  was  much  larger. 
It  was  not  that  they  had  to  meet  certain  conditions 
in  the  political  life  of  the  country,  but  they  deliberately 
made  the  conditions  themselves.     They  had  gone  into 

233 


284  LORD   STRATHCONA 

tRe  whole  business  with  their  eyes  wide  open.  Once 
having  entered  on  a  course  which  cannot  be  condemned 
too  strongly,  the  whole  management  of  their  business 
became  as  questionable  as  the  recent  condemnation 
of  the  management  of  the  great  insurance  companies 
in  the  United  States.  It  was  the  knowledge  of  the 
corrupt  phases  of  the  operations  of  the  Company,  in 
the  great  financial  centres  of  the  world,  that  caused 
doubt  about  the  reliability  of  their  securities.  The 
financiers  of  the  world  had  a  clearer  estimate  of  what 
was  going  on  than  the  Canadian  public. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  syndicate  followed  exactly 
the  same  course  at  Ottawa  that  Huntingdon  and 
Ames  did  with  the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  in  the 
western  States  and  at  Washington.  Great  concessions 
of  land  and  money  subsidies  were  secured,  and  repre- 
sentatives in  Congress  became  the  recipients  of  railway 
favours.  The  day  of  reckoning  arrived  in  the  great 
republic  when  an  indignant  people  became  roused, 
and  the  long-delayed  inquiry  was  instituted.  As  a 
result  of  the  investigations,  reputations  of  men  high 
in  public  estimation  tumbled  like  houses  of  cards.  But 
not  before  a  state  of  affairs  was  revealed  that  was 
looked  upon  as  impossible  even  in  the  United  States. 
Nothing  but  the  large  magnanimity  of  those  whom 
patriotism  and  self-protection  forced  to  be  the  op- 
ponents of  the  Canadian  syndicate,  has  prevented  the 
fate  that  overcame  prominent  statesmen  in  the  United 
States,  as  well  as  De  Lesseps  in  France,  from  engulfing 
a   similar  class  which   dominated  the   politics  of   the 


A   GREAT   CORPORATION  235 

Dominion  for  so  many  years.  And  the  unreserved 
magnanimity  that  was  shown  to  them  has  been  taken 
as  evidence  of  cowardice. 

Lord  Strathcona  lived  to  see  the  enterprise  which 
owes  its  charter  to  his  political  foresight  increase 
beyond  his  most  sanguine  anticipations.  The  Com- 
pany now  owns  sixteen  thousand  miles  of  railway  in 
active  operation ;  two  great  steamship  lines  traversing 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans ;  to  say  nothing  about 
cable  and  telegraphic  properties.  The  annual  revenue 
of  the  Company  exceeds  $150,000,000  (£30,000,000), 
and  upon  the  stock  and  bonds  of  the  Company  satis- 
factory dividends  are  promptly  and  regularly  paid. 
The  capital  of  the  Company  is  announced  as  being 
$485,000,000  (£97,000,000).  The  records  of  the 
decade  between  1897  and  1907  will  be  remembered 
as  the  great  turning-point  in  the  history  of  Canada. 
The  imports  and  exports  more  than  doubled — the 
public  revenue  almost  trebled — the  manufacturing 
industries  expanded  enormously — notwithstanding  a 
largely  increased  expenditure  surpluses  aggregating 
$200,000,000  (£40,000,000)  accumulated,  and  portions 
of  the  national  debt  falling  due  were  paid  out  of  the 
revenue.  No  country  in  modern  times  has  had  such 
a  record  of  permanent  development  and  prosperity. 

Nothing  but  these  extraordinary  conditions  enabled 
Canada  to  withstand  the  severe  strain  which  was 
placed  upon  its  financial  life  by  the  methods  adopted 
by  the  Pacific  Railway  syndicate.  The  Dominion 
certainly  could  not  stand  further  experience  of  this 


286  LORD   STRATHCONA 

character.  The  danger  still  exists  that  others  may 
look  towards  the  Dominion  as  the  field  for  another 
attempt  to  emulate  the  actions  of  the  Pacific  Railway. 
Such  a  course  could  not  but  bring  disaster  in  its  train. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  permanent  advance  in 
the  fortunes  of  the  Pacific  Railway  became  particularly 
evident  shortly  after  the  Liberal  party  assumed  power 
at  Ottawa,  though  to  keep  this  party  out  of  office 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  pounds  were  spent  in  cor- 
rupting the  electorate  by  the  syndicate.  The 
enormous  increase  in  the  receipts  of  the  Company  is 
due  entirely  to  the  great  wave  of  prosperity  that  has 
been  sweeping  over  Canada  for  the  last  fifteen  years. 
This  was  brought  about  by  the  tide  of  emigration 
from  all  parts  of  the  world  being  successfully  directed 
to  the  Dominion  as  the  result  of  the  policy  instituted 
by  Hon.  Clifford  Sifton,  to  whom  must  ever  be  given 
the  honour  for  this  significant  turning-point  in 
Canadian  history. 

Mr.  Clifford  Sifton  was  the  representative  of  the 
great  west  in  the  Laurier  Cabinet.  He  was  Attorney- 
General  in  the  Manitoba  Government  when  Wilfrid 
Laurier  offered  him  charge  of  the  Department  of  the 
Interior.  He  came  from  the  prairie  provinces  full 
of  enthusiasm  about  the  possibilities  of  that  vast  area 
between  Winnipeg  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  For 
thirty  years  successive  Ministers  had  endeavoured  to 
solve  the  immigration  problem  at  Ottawa,  each  one 
apparently  leaving  the  question  in  worse  shape  than 
his  predecessor.     The  High  Commissioner's  office  had 


CANADA   EXPECTING   MUCH  237 

been  placed  in  charge  of  the  emigration  propaganda 
in  Great  Britain  and  Europe.  The  results  to  the 
Dominion  were  nil. 

Canadians  congratulated  themselves  when  Sir  Donald 
A.  Smith  became  High  Commissioner.  It  was  thought 
that  something  would  be  done  of  a  practical  character 
in  regard  to  emigration,  but  he  too  settled  down  to 
the  ordinary  official  status  quo.  As  the  result  of 
correspondence  with  Sir  Donald  Smith,  Mr.  Sifton 
proposed  that  a  Canadian  official  should  be  sent  to 
London  to  take  charge  of  emigration  work.  Sir 
Donald  in  reply  thought  that  a  minor  clerk  at  a  small 
salary  would  answer  the  requirements.  But  the 
Minister  decided  that  a  much  more  responsible  official 
was  necessary.  Before  this  could  be  accomplished, 
however,  Sir  Donald  had  been  High  Commissioner  for 
more  than  two  years. 

In  the  meantime  Sir  Donald  decided  to  do  some- 
thing. He  was  impressed  with  the  idea  that  he 
should  visit  the  Continent  and  see  what  could  be  done 
to  assist  emigration.  At  Hamburg  he  issued  letters 
of  invitation  to  fifty  or  sixty  attaches  of  booking  agents, 
stating  that  "  Lord  Strathcona,  High  Commissioner 
for  Canada  "  would  like  to  confer  with  them  at  his 
hotel  on  the  question  of  emigration  to  Canada.  An 
invitation  from  an  English  lord  brought  a  fairly  large 
attendance  of  a  certain  class.  The  High  Commissioner 
addressed  them,  pointing  out  the  advantages  offered 
to  emigrants  by  Canada,  impressed  on  them  the  fact 
that  a  bonus  was  paid  upon  each  emigrant  to  the 


238  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Dominion,  and  asked  their  cordial  co-operation  in 
this  work.  Fortunately  Lord  Strathcona  did  not 
prolong  his  stay  in  Germany  beyond  that  day. 

On  his  return  to  London  he  immediately  wrote  an 
extended  report  about  his  trip  to  the  Continent  in 
the  interest  of  emigration,  addressing  a  copy  to  the 
Prime  Minister  and  also  one  officially  to  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  giving  a  summary  of  his  address  "  to 
a  crowded  meeting  of  booking  agents."  He  proposed 
to  show  the  Ottawa  Government  that,  with  such 
activity  on  his  part,  the  occasion  for  sending  over  a 
responsible  official  to  take  charge  of  emigration  was 
altogether  unnecessary. 

But,  alas  for  this  incursion  into  unfamiliar  fields ! 
Scarcely  had  this  long  report  of  the  Hamburg  meeting 
reached  the  mail-box,  than  Lord  Strathcona  received  an 
urgent  message  from  the  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamber- 
lain, Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies,  saying  that  he 
wanted  to  see  him  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  on 
a  matter  of  grave  importance  in  the  Foreign  Minister's 
Department.  The  Colonial  Secretary  informed  Lord 
Strathcona  that  the  Prime  Minister,  Lord  Salisbury, 
had  received  an  official  visit  from  Count  Hatzfeldt, 
the  German  Ambassador,  who  stated  that  the  High 
Commissioner  for  Canada  had,  contrary  to  the  German 
law,  and  also  in  violation  of  the  police  regulations  of 
Prussia,  addressed  a  meeting  of  booking  agents  in 
Hamburg,  inciting  them  to  emigration  work.  The 
Ambassador  desired  Lord  Salisbury  to  advise  Lord 
Strathcona    that,  under    no  circumstances   whatever, 


THREATENED   WITH   ARREST  239 

would  it  be  advisable  for  him  to  visit  any  part  of 
Germany,  because  the  police  at  the  frontier  had 
instructions  to  arrest  him  without  ceremony  for  his 
flagrant  violation  of  the  law.  Lord  Salisbury  also 
advised  Mr.  Chamberlain  that  it  would  be  well  if 
Lord  Strathcona  could  submit  a  statement  proving 
that  the  German  authorities  were  under  a  misconcep- 
tion as  to  the  facts  of  the  case. 

The  German  authorities  were  quite  astray  in  one 
particular.  The  "  booking  agents  "  of  Hamburg  had 
not  responded  to  the  invitation  to  confer  with  the 
English  lord.  If  Lord  Strathcona  wanted  to  see  them 
on  business,  they  had  decided  that  he  might  better 
call  at  their  business  offices.  The  distinguished 
company  who  favoured  the  Canadian  High  Commis- 
sioner with  their  presence  were  the  street-runners 
or  "  tooters  "  connected  with  the  competitive  steam- 
ship companies.  They  had  rushed  to  the  Hamburger 
Hof  merely  to  see  a  real  live  English  lord. 

The  High  Commissioner  returned  to  his  office  after 
his  interview  with  Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain  deeply 
crestfallen.  For  diplomatic  reasons,  and  in  order  to 
preserve  his  standing  with  the  Prime  Minister  and 
the  Colonial  Secretary,  he  desired  to  explain  away  the 
incident.  But  there  were  those  letters  on  the  way  to 
Ottawa  !  Lord  Strathcona,  however,  took  the  plunge 
by  cabling  to  Ottawa  an  urgent  request  to  regard 
his  correspondence  on  his  continental  tour  as  "  con- 
fidential." He  then  addressed  an  official  letter  to 
Lord  Ampthill,  who  at  that  time  was  private  secretary 


240  LORD   STRATHCONA 

to  the  Colonial  Secretary,  giving  a  markedly  different 
account  of  his  incidental  meeting  with  the  booking 
agents  at  Hamburg  than  that  which  he  had  sent  to 
Ottawa  a  few  days  previously.  He  also  expressed  the 
hope  that  his  denial  of  the  charges  sent  to  Berlin  by 
the  Hamburg  police,  that  he  had  incited  an  emigra- 
tion propaganda  on  the  occasion  of  his  recent  visit  to 
the  Continent,  would  be  accepted  by  the  German 
authorities. 

To  all  appearance  official  records  of  Lord  Strath- 
cona's  connection  with  the  matter  at  issue  were  out 
of  the  way.  But  punctilious  officialism,  even  in 
Canada,  dearly  loves  a  report,  more  especially  one 
signed  by  a  lord.  To  allow  such  a  communication 
to  be  anywhere  else  than  on  the  principal  files  of  the 
Department  would  be  an  unheard-of  breach  of 
etiquette.  So  the  report  about  the  visit  to  Germany 
on  emigration  duly  reached  the  correspondence  clerks. 

Some  years  later  the  correspondence  was  produced  to 
a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  official 
inconsistencies  between  the  report  to  Ottawa  and  the 
letter  to  Lord  Ampthill  became  public  property. 

This  visit  to  the  Continent,  carried  out  with  a 
flourish  of  trumpets,  and  which  had  such  humiliating 
consequences,  was  Lord  Strathcona's  first  and  last 
personal  effort  to  direct  an  emigration  movement  to 
the  Dominion  of  Canada.  He  had  no  more  to  do 
with  the  magnificent  work  that  was  done  to  rouse  an 
interest  throughout  the  emigrating  world  to  the 
advantages  offered  by  Canada  than  had  the  men  who 


SOLVING   THE   EMIGRATION   PROBLEM    241 

aimlessly  haunt  the  Embankment,  parks,  or  squares 
of  London.  The  official  eulogies  of  Lord  Strathcona 
published  on  this  phase  of  his  official  work  have  not 
the  slightest  foundation  in  fact. 

The   great   tide   of   emigration   which  has   turned 
towards  Canada  during  the  last  fourteen  years  is  the 
direct  result  of  the  policy  instituted  by  Hon.  Clifford 
Sifton.     He  entered  the  Cabinet  determined  that  the 
failures    of    thirty    years    should    be    overcome.     He 
believed  that  the  genius  of  Canadian  statesmanship 
could  find  a  solution  for  the  problem,  and  to  it  he  gave 
his  undivided  attention.     He  appointed  Hon.  James  A. 
Smart    Deputy-Minister,  Mr.  Frank    Pedley    Super- 
intendent  of  Immigration,  Mr.  W.  J.  White  Com- 
missioner to  the  United  States,  and  a  Commissioner 
of  Emigration  to  Great  Britain  and  Europe.     These 
officials  were  assured  of  the  confidence  of  the  Minister, 
were    told    that    their    recommendations    would    be 
accepted,  and  that  all  the  money  needed  to  insure 
success  would  be  forthcoming.     The  officials  in  London 
connected  with  the  emigration  work  were  removed 
from  the  control  of  the  High  Commissioner's  office, 
so  as  to  allow  the  fullest  freedom  of  action.     In  the 
work  in  this  country  the  value  of  the  assistance  that 
was  given,  without  an  exception,  by  the  British  Press 
can  never  be  over-estimated.     Without  this  hearty  and 
gratuitous  co-operation  on  the  part  of  British  journal- 
ism no  such  magnificent  results  could  ever  have  been 
obtained.     For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Great 
Britain,    under    this    propaganda,    the   number    of 


242  LORD   STRATHCONA 

British  emigrants  to  Canada  far  exceeded  those  going 
to  the  United  States.  To  apportion  any  part  of  the 
credit  of  this  marvellous  work  to  Lord  Strathcona  is 
to  delve  into  an  atmosphere  of  fiction.  In  point  of 
fact  the  success  of  Mr.  Sifton's  propaganda  by  officials 
outside  the  control  of  his  office  was  a  subject  of  con- 
stant jealousy  to  Lord  Strathcona.  He  regarded  their 
success  as  a  reflection  upon  the  High  Commissioner's 
office,  and  he  only  became  reconciled  to  the  situation 
when  Hon.  Clifford  Sifton  had  withdrawn  from  the 
Government  and  the  successful  officials  had  been 
removed  to  other  fields  of  government  work. 

The  impression  must  not  be  created  that  Lord 
Strathcona  was  uninterested  in  emigration  work. 
On  the  contrary  he  was  interested  for  the  most 
obvious  reasons ;  although  when  the  writer  discussed 
the  matter  with  him  for  the  first  time  in  1898,  he  was 
exceedingly  dubious  about  the  possibility  of  any 
great  movement  from  this  country  being  directed  to 
Canada,  instancing  the  comparative  failure  of  the 
emigration  work  that  had  been  carried  on  in  Great 
Britain  and  the  Continent  under  the  supervision  of 
his  own  office,  and  also  by  that  of  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway.  These  unsuccessful  efforts,  he  feared,  did 
not  give  a  basis  for  much  hope  in  the  future,  more 
especially  as  he  was  assured  that  every  possible  plan 
had  been  tried  by  the  High  Commissioner's  office 
to  awaken  an  interest  in  Canada  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  This,  in  fact,  was  the  generally  accepted 
view   everywhere.      The   late  Mr.   Moberly  Bell,  of 


THE   CORONATION  ARCH  243 

The  Times,  told  the  writer  that  he  feared  it  was 
impossible  to  induce  the  British  emigrant  to  go  to 
Canada,  or  to  interest  the  general  public  in  the 
Dominion.  But  at  the  same  time  Mr.  Bell  freely 
offered  the  columns  of  The  Times  in  any  manner 
desired  to  assist  in  the  official  propaganda. 

An  unexpected  opportunity  was  afforded  Lord 
Strathcona  in  the  summer  of  1902  to  be  of  signal 
service.  Arrangements  were  then  being  made  to 
decorate  London  on  the  occasion  of  His  late  Majesty's 
coronation.  The  writer,  after  consulting  the  High 
Commissioner,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Depart- 
ment at  Ottawa,  requested  permission  from  the  West- 
minster Council  to  erect  a  Canadian  Arch  in  Whitehall. 
The  assurance  was  given  that  it  would  be  done  on  a 
scale  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  on  the  recommen- 
dation of  the  Earl  of  Onslow,  who  was  Chairman  of 
the  Council,  the  permission  was  granted.  The  an- 
nouncement in  the  Press  that  Canada  intended  taking 
this  step  caused  a  sensation.  Instructions,  however, 
came  by  cable  from  Ottawa  that  only  £600  would  be 
authorized  by  the  Department  for  this  purpose.  In 
reply  to  pressing  cables,  the  Department  finally  con- 
sented to  an  expenditure  not  exceeding  £1200. 

At  this  point  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Lord 
Strathcona,  while  de  facto  an  official  of  the  Dominion 
Government  and  occupying  a  position  to  which 
there  was  a  large  salary  attached,  had  persistently 
declined  to  accept  any  salary.  This  undoubtedly 
allowed  him  liberty  of  action  that  could  not  be  taken 


244  LORD   STRATHCONA 

witn  impunity  by  ordinary  officials.  On  learning  of  the 
latest  instructions  from  Ottawa  about  the  proposed 
arch  he  inquired  what  the  expenditure  was  likely  to 
be.  When  told  that  it  would  probably  reach  £6000, 
if  the  plans  then  being  considered  were  adopted,  he 
said  :  "  Go  on  with  the  work,  I  will  see  you  through, 
if  the  Government  raises  any  objection.  We  cannot 
afford  to  stop  now."  However,  when  the  Minister 
learned  about  the  instructions  that  had  been  cabled 
by  the  Department,  he  unhesitatingly  assumed  all 
responsibility  for  the  expenditure.  From  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  Lord  Strathcona  took  an  intense  interest 
in  the  progress  of  the  work,  and  was  quite  pleased  with 
having  decided  to  over-ride  departmental  instructions 
for  the  time.  The  cost,  as  might  be  expected,  ex- 
ceeded the  original  estimates.  Parliament  not  only 
cordially  approved  of  the  expenditure,  but  the  Oppo- 
sition, with  unprecedented  magnanimity, complimented 
the  London  management  of  the  Emigration  Depart- 
ment for  taking  advantage  of  the  opportunity  to 
make  the  resources  of  Canada  known  throughout  the 
world. 

It  is  probably  not  generally  known  that,  except  for  the 
first  day  or  two,  none  but  foreigners  were  engaged  in 
the  construction  and  maintenance.  English  labourers 
refused  to  work  either  on  Saturday  afternoons  or  after 
regular  hours,  although  offered  double  rates  of  wages 
for  overtime.  Consequently  there  was  a  hurried  visit 
to  the  foreign  settlements  in  the  East  End,  and  Belgians 
and   French  were  given  the  profitable  employment. 


A  NEW  PACE   IN  DECORATIONS         245 

Several  of  the  discharged  British  labourers  came  to 
the  scene  of  activity  and  threatened  to  set  fire  to  the 
structure.  This  alarmed  the  authorities  to  such  an 
extent  that  special  fire  and  police  protection  was 
considered  necessary. 

As  the  massive  pile  of  timbers  rose,  Whitehall  became 
a  centre  of  attraction.  Street  decorations  upon  such 
a  scale  are  unknown  in  this  country,  although  they  are 
not  uncommon  in  Canada.  When  the  late  King  visited 
the  Dominion  in  i860  he  saw  them  in  every  place. 
London  for  the  most  part  confines  its  extravagance 
in  street  decorations  to  the  same  old  Venetian  masts, 
enthusiastically  trotting  them  out  upon  every  con- 
ceivable occasion.  The  extravagance  of  Canada  there- 
fore created  a  record.  The  crimson  roses  alone  that 
were  purchased  in  Paris  and  Hamburg  to  decorate 
the  lower  part  of  the  structure,  and  which  only 
arrived  rich  in  fragrance  the  night  before  the  corona- 
tion, cost  more  than  all  the  other  public  decorations 
on  Whitehall.  In  point  of  publicity  Canada  received 
ample  return  for  the  expenditure.  The  arch  was  the 
great  feature  of  the  coronation  decorations.  Pictures 
appeared  in  tens  of  thousands  of  publications  through- 
out the  world.  Hour  after  hour  as  many  as  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  at  the  same  time  pointed  their  kodaks 
at  the  structure.  The  issue  of  picture  postal  cards 
ran  into  tens  of  millions.  Scores  of  excursions  were 
run  from  all  parts  of  England  to  London  with  the 
special  attraction  of  seeing  the  Canadian  Arch.  Canada 
had  reason  to  be  satisfied. 


246  LORD   STRATHCONA 

But  it  came  very  near  to  being  the  occasion  of  a 
shocking  accident.  During  the  march  down  Whitehall 
on  Dominion  Day  of  the  Canadian  contingent  that 
Sir  Henry  Pellatt  brought  to  London,  while  Sir 
Wilfrid  and  Lady  Laurier  with  a  number  of  friends 
had  taken  places  on  the  main  balcony  of  the  arch, 
two  or  three  gentlemen  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
structure  were  suddenly  attracted  by  a  faint  cracking 
of  timber ;  and  looking  up  saw  with  horror  that  the 
upper  floor  was  giving  way.  They  quickly  rushed 
with  spare  timbers  that  fortunately  were  near,  to 
support  the  slowly-sinking  platform.  The  crowd  was 
removed  from  above,  having  but  a  faint  knowledge  of 
the  serious  accident  that  had  been  so  narrowly  averted. 

Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Governor-General, 
acting  for  the  Prime  Minister,  Donald  A.  Smith  was 
knighted  in  1896.  In  the  distribution  of  honours  on 
the  occasion  of  the  Diamond  Jubilee  his  name  was 
submitted  by  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  for  a  barony.  This, 
however,  was  only  a  life  peerage.  In  1909  Sir  John 
McNeil  informed  the  writer  that  Lord  Strathcona  had 
been  to  see  him  several  times  in  order  to  get  his 
assistance  in  having  his  title  arranged  so  that  the  re- 
version would  pass  to  Hon.  Mrs.  Howard  and  her  heirs. 
Sir  John  had  mentioned  the  matter  to  the  Queen, 
the  Prime  Minister  and  the  Colonial  Secretary,  but 
it  was  clear  that  official  regulations  made  it  very 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  do  anything  without 
the  concurrence  of  the  authorities  in  Canada.  I  had 
several  interviews  with  Sir  John,  and  finally  decided 


HOW  A  TITLE   BECAME   HEREDITARY    247 

to  go  to  Ottawa,  where  I  found  the  impression  with 
the  Government  that  Lord  Strathcona  wished  the 
title  to  become  extinct  at  his  death.  However, 
fortunately,  I  had  Sir  John's  letters  on  the  subject, 
and  they  left  no  room  for  doubt.  The  day  following 
my  discussion  with  Sir  Richard  Cartwright,  he  told 
me  that  the  Premier  had  seen  Lord  Minto,  the 
Governor-General,  who  had  immediately  communi- 
cated with  the  Colonial  Office.  Sir  Richard  was 
anxious  that  I  should  tell  Lord  Strathcona  on  my 
return  to  London  what  he,  Sir  Richard,  had  done. 
This  I  fully  intended  doing,  but  prefaced  my  inten- 
tions with  congratulations  on  the  change  in  the 
character  of  his  title,  full  particulars  of  which  had 
already  been  published.  He  replied,  before  I  could 
say  any  more :  "  I  do  not  know  how  these  things  are 
done.  The  Queen  has  been  pressing  this  upon  me 
for  some  time,  but  I  did  not  feel  justified  in  accepting 
until  now."  I  was  silenced,  but  enjoyed  a  good  laugh 
with  Sir  John  McNeil  over  it  later.  Shortly  after- 
wards the  announcement  was  made  in  the  Press  that 
Lord  Strathcona  had  purchased  an  island  on  the 
west  coast  of  Scotland  from  Sir  John  for  £30,000. 


XXVII 

Election  journey  to  Canada — Keeping  the  C.  P.  R.  quiet — Still  afraid 
of  investigation — The  standard  of  British  politics — Danger  to 
the  State. 

The  failure  to  investigate  the  well-known  Pacific  Rail- 
way methods  in  Canada  emboldened  that  great  cor- 
poration to  continue  its  peculiar  practices  on  more 
than  one  occasion.  Four  general  elections  have  taken 
place  since  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier's  assumption  of  office — 
1900,  1904,  1908  and  191 1.  In  connection  with  the 
first  an  unexpected  development  occurred.  There 
was  a  house  party  at  Glencoe,  the  writer  being  among 
the  guests.  The  campaign  in  Canada  was  then  in  full 
swing.  It  was  immediately  after  breakfast  that  morn- 
ing telegrams  were  handed  in.  Lord  Strathcona  had 
the  usual  number.  Calling  me  into  the  library  he 
told  me  that  he  had  to  leave  for  Canada  the  following 
day,  but  he  wanted  the  guests  to  continue  their  visit 
as  if  nothing  had  happened.  He  said  that  his  presence 
in  Canada  was  imperative,  handing  me  a  cable  that  had 
just  been  received.  The  information,  which  was  not, 
however,  from  the  Government,  was  that  the  Canadian 
Pacific  officials  in  Montreal  were  preparing  to  oppose 
the  Government  with  their  old-time  vigour.  To 
prevent  this  he  hurried  off  to  Canada,  taking  up  his 

248 


KNIFING   CANADIAN   PROJECTS  249 

quarters  in  Montreal,  where  he  stood  guard  over  the 
officials  of  the  Company  until  all  fear  of  the  threatened 
participation  had  passed.  The  course  that  he  had 
been  willing  the  original  syndicate  should  take,  he 
was  averse  in  his  later  years  to  leave  as  a  legacy  to  the 
great  corporation  that  he  had  founded,  or  as  a  justifi- 
cation for  continuing  to  interfere  with  the  politics  of 
the  Dominion.  Nevertheless,  in  1904,  the  influence  of 
the  company  was  let  loose  against  the  Liberal  Govern- 
ment, the  principal  reason  given  for  this  action  being 
that  Laurier  favoured  the  construction  of  the  Grand 
Trunk  Pacific  Railway.  The  annoyance  of  the  Com- 
pany at  being  unable  to  prevent  a  charter  being 
granted  to  the  Grand  Trunk  for  a  line  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  declaration  by  a 
very  prominent  Canadian  Pacific  official  that  he 
would  prevent  the  Grand  Trunk  from  getting  money 
in  London  to  build  the  road.  Previous  to  this  the 
Canadian  Pacific  influences  had  endeavoured  to  pre- 
vent the  Mackenzie  and  Mann  lines  from  finding  money 
to  carry  on  their  railway  construction.  The  Company 
which  has  grown  out  of  the  original  syndicate  has 
since  acted  as  if  it  owns  the  country.  Its  schemes 
have  been  successful  in  Parliament  for  so  many  years 
that  such  a  conclusion  seems  natural. 

In  the  elections  of  191 1  all  reserve  was  thrown  to 
the  winds,  and  the  full  army  of  75,000  employees  was 
marshalled  against  the  Government.  Such  conduct 
on  the  part  of  any  corporation  in  Germany,  Austria 
or  France,  would  result  in  the  officials  finding  them- 


250  LORD   STRATHCONA 

selves  in  prison  with  little  loss  of  time.  It  could  not 
take  place  in  Great  Britain,  nor  could  any  candidate 
be  found,  even  with  a  certainty  of  election,  willing 
to  accept  support  of  that  character.  Yet  the  people 
of  Canada  pride  themselves  upon  the  idea  that  their 
Legislature  is  built  on  the  model  of  the  Mother  of 
Parliaments ! 

The  revelation  at  a  recent  session  of  the  British 
House  of  Commons,  that  the  directors  of  the  London 
and  North-western  Railway  had  subscribed  £200  to 
an  election  fund,  was  sufficiently  startling  to  both 
sides  of  the  House  to  cause  the  immediate  stoppage  of 
legislation  then  being  enacted  in  the  interest  of  the 
company,  until  an  apology  could  be  offered,  and 
evidence  adduced  that  the  money  had  been  returned 
to  the  company  by  the  directors.  There  is  no  need 
to  inquire  as  to  what  action  the  British  Parliament 
would  take,  if  evidence  was  available  that  a  railway 
corporation  had  expended  half  a  million  pounds 
sterling,  and  turned  the  whole  machinery  of  its 
organization  into  corrupting  the  political  life  of  the 
country.  It  may  be  interesting  to  ask  what  kind  of  an 
uproar  would  there  be  in  British  politics  if,  in  seeking 
an  extension  of  the  powers  of  the  Chartered  Company 
of  South  Africa  from  the  British  Parliament,  Sir 
Leander  Starr  Jameson,  the  President  of  the  Company, 
should  present  the  wife  of  the  Prime  Minister  with  a 
necklace  of  jewels  costing  £40,000,  loan  the  Chancellor 
£10,000  to  £20,000,  deposit  to  the  credit  of  another 
Member  of  the  Cabinet  from  £50,000  to  £100,000 


BALLOT-BOX  MUST  BE   FREE  251 

for  his  personal  use,  contribute  .£100,000  to  the 
Liberal  Whip  for  party  purposes,  and  scatter  the 
Chartered  Company's  shares  among  members  on  both 
sides  of  the  House !  And  yet  this  is  exactly  what  was 
done  in  the  Dominion  Parliament  to  advance  the 
interests  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway.  In  regard 
to  the  participants,  the  receivers  are  "  Honourable 
Gentlemen,"  and  the  contributors  are  "  Empire- 
Builders."  There  is  a  healthier  element  now  on  both 
sides  of  the  House,  sick  and  tired  of  this  sinister  domi- 
nation of  the  public  life  of  the  country.  The  little 
leaven  will  yet  "  leaven  the  whole  lump."  And,  when 
that  time  comes,  reputations,  both  of  the  living  and 
the  dead,  will  suffer. 

No  country  can  afford  to  have  its  public  interests 
overshadowed  by  the  active  influence  of  a  great 
corporation.  This  is  particularly  objectionable  if 
such  a  corporation  has  developed  under  bounty  drawn 
from  the  public  exchequer.  Corporations  have  a 
proper  position  in  every  country,  but  their  place,  as 
corporate  bodies,  is  not  at  the  ballot-box.  The  ballot 
is  a  personal  possession,  not  corporate  or  collective  in 
its  character.  It  is  the  nation's  "  pearl  of  great 
price."  The  rich  and  poor  must  stand  upon  a  perfect 
equality  with  the  ballot  and  at  the  ballot-box.  There 
is  no  liberty  of  action  when  a  powerful  corporation, 
either  secretly  or  openly,  attempts  to  dominate 
elections.  Such  corporate  monstrosities  must  be 
throttled. 

If  the  genius  of  statesmanship  has  not  discovered  a 


252  LORD   STRATHCONA 

way  to  enact  legislation,  punishing  with  the  utmost 
severity  all  possible  attempts  to  interfere  with  the 
liberty  of  the  subject,  the  sooner  it  is  done  the  better. 
If  it  is  not  done  now,  if  will  be  done  later,  and  then 
"  vested  interests "  will  suffer.  The  Dominion  Legis- 
lature is  a  Parliament,  possessing  full  Parliamentary 
powers.  And  with  public  opinion  behind  it,  there  is 
no  influence  to  stand  in  its  way.  The  solution  of  this 
problem  has  long  since  been  settled  in  British  politics, 
but  it  has  yet  to  be  solved  in  the  most  important 
colony  of  the  Empire. 

The  Canadian  people,  calmly  pursuing  their  peace- 
ful avocations,  were  new  to  the  conditions  introduced 
into  Dominion  politics  in  the  interest  of  the  syndicate. 
Officials  were  imported  from  the  United  States,  with 
an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  methods  employed  in 
manipulating  public  men  in  railway  interests  in  the 
west,  and  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  Canadian  Pacific. 
Under  their  instructions,  the  most  improved  tactics 
were  brought  into  play  to  complete  the  demoralization 
of  Canadian  public  life,  and  at  the  same  time  to  secure 
the  control  of  the  Parliamentary  institutions  of  the 
country. 

The  general  public  had  not  time  or  opportunity, 
amid  the  struggles  for  home  and  family,  to  watch  too 
closely  the  actions  of  those  who  so  loudly  claimed  to 
be  patriotic.  Canadians  as  a  class  are  actuated  by 
high  principles.  This  heritage  has  fallen  to  them 
from  the  noble  bands  of  English,  Scotch,  Irish  and 
French  who  emigrated  to  Canada  in  its  earlier  years, 


CANADIAN   PEOPLE   ARE   HONEST     253 

and  whose  self-sacrificing  toil  laid  the  foundation  of 
an  honest  race.  The  people  had  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  standards  of  honour  and  honesty  that 
prevailed  in  the  ordinary  walks  of  life  were  finding 
expression  in  the  administration  of  government. 
That  the  Parliament  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  should 
be  the  medium  of  creating  private  wealth  is  as 
repugnant  to  them  as  it  is  to  the  electors  of  Great 
Britain.  They  believed  that  the  British  ideal  existed 
in  their  own  manner  and  form  of  government.  No 
other  conception  of  public  life  prevails  in  the  minds 
of  the  masses  of  the  Canadian  people.  The  lives  of 
Brown,  Mackenzie,  Holton  and  Dorion  more  properly 
represent  the  characteristics  of  this  people  than  the 
record  of  those,  living  or  dead,  who  have  caused  other 
considerations  to  prevail  in  high  places. 


XXVIII 

Distribution  of  wealth — The  Strathcona  Horse — Consternation  at  a 
banquet — Visits  from  the  troopers'  families — A  share  in  the  good 
times — Subscription  to  British  political  funds — The  All-Red 
Route — The  ruling  passion — Fear  of  possible  successor — Sir 
Frederick  Borden  and  Sir  Gilbert  Parker — A  pathetic  scene — 
Conclusion  there  is  no  hurry  to  resign — Lady  Strathcona. 

The  romance  of  Lord  Strathcona's  life  between  the 
western  prairies  and  the  House  of  Lords  would  be 
incomplete  without  a  reference  to  gifts  that  will 
cause  his  name  to  be  remembered.  The  Queen 
Victoria  Jubilee  Hospital  at  Montreal,  in  co-operation 
with  another  Pacific  syndicate  magnate,  Lord  Mount 
Stephen,  was  erected  at  an  enormous  cost,  and  in  its 
appointments  is  one  of  the  best  institutions  on  the 
continent  of  America.  The  King's  Hospital  Fund, 
London,  in  which  he  was  also  joined  by  the  nobleman 
referred  to,  established  a  record  in  subscriptions  of 
that  character ;  McGill  University,  Montreal,  in  the 
equipment  of  which  Lord  Strathcona  and  Sir  William 
Macdonald  expended  several  millions ;  the  Strath- 
cona Horse,  a  contribution  to  the  Empire  during  the 
South  African  War,  has  no  precedent  in  the  history  of 
any  country. 

A  props  of  the  Strathcona  Horse,  it  will  be  re- 
membered that  on  the  return  of  the  force  from  South 
Africa,   the   officers   and   men   were   much   feted  in 
London.     The   amusements   provided   for   the   non- 
254 


TOO   MANY   COMPLIMENTS  255 

commissioned  officers  and  men  were  on  a  most 
extensive  scale.  The  officers  enjoyed  receptions 
and  banquets  galore.  So  many  compliments  were 
dinned  into  their  ears  by  the  beauty  and  fashion  of 
the  day  that  it  is  not  surprising,  if,  during  the  late 
hours  at  well-laid-out  banquets  where  everything  of 
a  gastronomic  character  that  the  heart  could  desire 
was  generously  provided,  the  compliments  assumed  en- 
larged proportions,  and  a  faint  idea  took  possession  of 
some  of  the  officers'  minds  that  the  Strathcona  Horse 
had  really  turned  the  tide  of  victory  in  South  Africa. 
As  a  final  farewell  to  the  gallant  Canadian  force,  Lord 
Strathcona  gave  a  banquet  to  the  officers  at  the  Hotel 
Cecil.  The  guests  were  among  the  most  notable  in 
the  Empire.  Heads  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  Field- 
Marshals  and  Admirals,  Foreign  and  Colonial  officials, 
in  a  goodly  company,  gathered  round  the  festive 
board.  If  anything  had  been  left  unsaid  about  the 
wonderful  fighting  character  of  the  force,  it  was 
amply  compensated  for  on  this  occasion.  There  was 
no  longer  any  doubt  about  the  marvellous  achievements 
of  the  Strathcona  House.  Queen  Mary  would  never 
have  lost  Calais,  Bonaparte  might  have  won  Waterloo, 
and  Napoleon  would  have  saved  his  Empire  at  Sedan, 
if  the  Strathcona  Horse  had  been  with  the  defeated  of 
those  days.  Lord  Strathcona  proposed  the  "  Health 
of  the  officers  of  the  Strathcona  Horse,"  the  title  of 
which  he  said  the  guests  knew  he  was  not  responsible 
for.  He  expressed  his  personal  appreciation  of  their 
bravery,  and  of  their  anxiety  to  help  the  Empire  in  the 
hour  of  trouble.     After  the  toast  had  been  properly 


256  LORD   STRATHCONA 

honoured,  one  of  the  officers  rose  to  reply.  With 
flashing  eyes  and  in  a  voice  indicating  intense  earnest- 
ness, he  assured  the  gathering  that  he  was  not  a  public 
speaker,  but  he  was  a  fighter.  (Loud  applause.) 
Raising  his  glass  "  To  the  Strathcona  Horse,"  he  said  : 
"  We  are  the  Boys  "  (loud  applause).  "  We  can  lick 
anything  in  sight  "  (applause  and  laughter).  "  One 
of  us  is  worth  any  five  Frenchmen  "  (consternation), 
11  and  we  can  lick  h —  out  of  the  Germans."  A  look 
of  horror  appeared  on  every  face.  Privy  Councillors 
half  rose  from  their  seats.  Two  prominent  guests 
immediately  endeavoured  to  get  the  enthusiastic 
fighter  to  resume  his.  But  his  appetite  had  been 
sharpened  for  the  blood  of  a  foreigner.  With  great 
difficulty,  and  amid  a  rattle  of  dishes  to  drown  any 
further  references  of  a  similar  character,  the  brave 
soldier  was  pushed  towards  the  exit,  repeating  over 
and  over  again,  "  We  can  lick,"  etc.,  etc.  The  repre- 
sentatives of  diplomacy  were  horrified.  A  feast  which 
promised  so  much  that  was  pleasant  had  suddenly 
turned  to  ashes.  Word  was  passed  down  the  table  that 
the  incident  must  be  regarded  as  never  having  taken 
place.  But  the  ghost  of  international  complications 
haunted  the  banqueting-hall  for  the  rest  of  the  evening. 
As  the  company  dispersed  a  very  prominent  diplomat 

was  heard  to  say  :  "  D the  Strathcona  Horse  !  " 

There  was  another  phase  of  the  Strathcona  Horse 
that  gave  Lord  Strathcona  not  a  little  anxiety,  and 
which,  of  course,  could  not  have  been  foreseen.  In 
anticipation  of  the  return  of  their  husbands,  the 
wives   of   three  or  four   of   the   troopers,  young  and 


UNEXPECTED  DEVELOPMENTS         257 

bonny,  came  to  London  to  meet  the  idols  of  the  nation. 
The  Canadian  Press  had  enlarged  on  the  gratitude  of 
the  Empire  to  the  force,  and  outlined  a  programme 
that  was  being  prepared  for  the  troopers  on  their  return 
from  the  scene  of  active  operations.  Why  should  not 
the  wives  have  a  share  of  the  good  things  that  were 
going  ?  Had  they  not  suffered  also  ?  Some  of  these 
anxious  spouses  anticipated  their  lords'  return  by 
many  months.  They  could  not  do  less  than  visit  the 
office  of  the  great  man  whose  liberality  had  provided 
the  means  for  their  husbands  to  seek  glory  in  South 
Africa,  and  it  was  from  him,  also,  that  they  were  likely 
to  get  the  most  reliable  information  about  the  return 
of  the  troops.  The  officials  at  the  High  Commis- 
sioner's office  were  unusually  courteous  and  atten- 
tive, and  they  were  also  very  solicitous  that  the  ladies 
should  not  interview  Lord  Strathcona.  But  they 
succeeded  in  passing  the  official  barriers  and  intro- 
duced themselves.  The  natural  inquiries  as  to  how 
they  were  getting  on  without  their  husbands  opened 
the  floodgates,  and  more  information  was  forthcoming 
than  was  wanted.  The  bread-winners  were  away 
fighting  to  save  the  Empire.  They  were  having  a 
hard  time  in  looking  after  themselves.  The  appeal 
was  irresistible — proper  provision  was  immediately 
made  on  a  most  liberal  scale.  One  or  two  of  these 
anxious  wives  learned  that  their  benefactor  kept  late 
office  hours,  and  they  found  fewer  officials  obstructing 
their  entrance  than  during  the  day.  So  they  chose 
the  evenings  for  their  visits  to  Victoria  Street.  Visits 
of  that  kind  were  capable  of  serious  misapprehension, 


258  LORD   STRATHCONA 

unjust  misconstruction  from  every  possible  stand- 
point, but  that  possibility  never  occurred  to  the  sturdy 
Canadian  matrons.  One  evening  when  Lady  Strath- 
cona  had  come  down  from  Grosvenor  Square  with  the 
object  of  taking  Lord  Strathcona  home  at  a  more 
reasonable  hour  than  he  was  accustomed  to  leave  his 
office,  one  of  these  evening  visitors  entered.  She 
informed  the  official  in  the  outer  office  that  she  must 
see  Lord  Strathcona.  The  official  explained  that  Lady 
Strathcona  was  with  him,  and,  also,  he  was  very  busy. 
But  if  Lady  Strathcona  was  there  it  was  all  the  greater 
incentive,  as  she  was  very  anxious  to  meet  Lady 
Strathcona  as  well.  The  official,  however,  was  obdurate. 
The  best  he  could  do  was  to  take  her  card  into  his 
Lordship.  The  visitor's  card  was  therefore  laid  on 
Lord  Strathcona's  desk.  After  a  moment's  hesitation 
Lord  Strathcona  said  :  "  Tell  him  that  I  cannot 
possibly  see  him  to-night.  Come  to-morrow  morn- 
ing." But  it  was  no  use.  The  official  returned  with 
the  message,  "  He  says  he  really  must  see  your  Lord- 
ship, and  he  will  wait  in  the  library  at  your  con- 
venience." Evening  visitors,  after  this  experience, 
were  barred  for  a  long  time  at  17  Victoria  Street,  but 
Lord  Strathcona  gave  instructions  that  there  must  be 
no  difficulties  raised  by  the  officials  to  prevent  these 
people  from  seeing  him  during  the  daytime. 

Lord  Strathcona  experienced  not  a  little  uneasiness 
at  the  persistent  efforts  of  several  members  of  the 
British  House  of  Commons  in  a  certain  direction, 
during  the  early  session  of  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Banner- 
man's  administration,  to  trace  a  persistent  rumour  to 


LIBERAL   POLITICAL   SUBSCRIPTION      259 

the  effect  that  the  High  Commissioner  for  Canada  had 
contributed  £150,000  to  the  funds  of  a  political 
organization  that  was  then  carrying  on  a  very  costly 
and  extensive  propaganda  throughout  Great  Britain. 
For  three  or  four  weeks  repeated  notices  of  inquiry  to 
the  Government  were  given  to  the  officials  of  the 
House  on  the  subject,  but  these  never  appeared  on  the 
official  records.  All  kinds  of  objections  were  raised  by 
those  charged  with  responsibility  about  the  form  and 
procedure  in  such  cases.  Although  it  was  evident  to 
the  inquirers  who  wanted  to  make  the  matter  public 
that  their  intentions  were  going  to  be  blocked,  they 
led  the  officers  of  the  House  a  lively  dance,  by  the 
various  forms  in  which  the  subject  was  presented  from 
time  to  time.  It  was  believed  by  those  high  in 
authority  that  it  was  not  in  the  public  interest  that 
Lord  Strathcona's  practical  sympathy  with  this 
question,  in  view  of  his  official  position,  should  be 
generally  known.  The  fear  of  having  his  association 
with  a  political  policy  that  was  opposed  by  the  Govern- 
ment to  which  he  was  accredited  announced  to  the 
public,  to  say  nothing  about  his  oft-repeated  assurance 
to  friends  that  he  took  no  interest  in  British  party 
politics,  disturbed  Lord  Strathcona's  equanimity  sadly. 
It  was  obviously  a  case  where  it  was  advisable  that  the 
right  hand  should  not  know  what  the  left  was  doing. 
One  other  incident  of  a  public  character  in  con- 
nection with  Lord  Strathcona's  later  life  stands  out 
as  worthy  of  note.  During  the  session  of  the  Colonial 
Conference  in  1907  there  was  much  unofficial  talk 
about   a   line   of   steamships  connecting   direct  with 


260  LORD   STRATHCONA 

railways  through  British  possessions  to  the  Antipodes, 
familiarly  known  as  the  All-Red  Route.  The  idea 
had  taken  a  good  hold  of  the  public  mind,  regardless 
of  the  vast  steamship  interests  plying  between  Australia 
and  Europe. 

At  any  rate  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  introduced  a 
resolution  to  the  Colonial  Conference  recommending 
that  imperial  and  colonial  assistance  be  given  to  such 
a  project.  He  announced  during  the  course  of  his 
speech  that  he  had  discussed  the  question  with  Lord 
Strathcona,  who  was  willing,  on  the  terms  proposed, 
to  throw  the  influence  of  his  great  wealth  into  the 
scale  and  make  the  All-Red  Route  a  success.  The 
minimum  terms  suggested  were  on  the  basis  of  a 
subsidy  from  the  governments  of  Great  Britain, 
Canada,  New  Zealand  and  Australia  of  $5,000,000 
(£1,000,000)  annually,  for  twenty  years,  totalling 
$100,000,000  (£20,000,000),  with  which  to  start. 
With  Lord  Strathcona's  experience  of  issuing  railway 
bonds  to  the  public,  and  paid-up  ordinary  stock  to 
himself,  the  only  cost  being  the  printing  account,  this 
proposal  certainly  opened  up  magnificent  possibilities. 
Others  did  not  see  them  at  the  moment,  but  he  took 
in  the  situation  at  a  glance.  The  project  was  hanging 
fire,  the  early  imperialistic  enthusiasm  having  sub- 
sided about  the  time  that  a  great  newspaper  amal- 
gamation or  shuffle  was  on  the  cards  in  London. 
Money  was  wanted  to  carry  the  rearrangement  of  the 
newspaper  ownership  through.  Lord  Strathcona  was 
consulted,  and  he  offered  to  subscribe  from  £150,000 
to  £300,000,  provided  the  newspapers  concerned  in 


RUMOURS  OF  RESIGNATION  261 

the  deal  should  take  special  interest  in  advocating  the 
All-Red  Route.  However,  the  idea  of  the  so-called 
Imperial  Route,  and  the  amalgamation  of  the  news- 
paper interests  in  question  died  a  natural  death. 

In  connection  with  the  oft-repeated  rumours  of 
Lord  Strathcona's  intended  resignation,  which  never 
had  any  foundation,  he  was  particularly  disturbed  at 
the  suggested  appointment  of  Sir  Frederick  Borden, 
or  Sir  Gilbert  Parker,  as  his  successor.  He  would 
have  left  nothing  undone  to  prevent  either  of  these 
notable  gentlemen  from  being  High  Commissioner. 
The  truth  is  that  he  had  no  intention  of  resigning,  but 
the  name  of  a  probable  successor  seemed  to  indicate 
that  his  resignation  was  desirable.  In  regard  to  Sir 
Frederick,  information  was  given  by  an  official  in  the 
High  Commissioner's  office  which  formed  the  foun- 
dation of  an  article  in  a  leading  periodical  in  London, 
which,  if  based  on  fact,  would  have  rendered  the 
appointment  impossible.  Sir  Frederick  promptly  in- 
stituted proceedings  for  libel  against  the  writer  and 
the  publishers.  A  full  and  unqualified  apology  was 
given  to  Sir  Frederick,  and  the  charges  were  acknow- 
ledged to  be  without  foundation,  and  a  substantial 
sum  was  paid  into  court  in  mitigation  of  damages. 
Respecting  Sir  Gilbert  Parker,  Lord  Strathcona  asked 
me  if  I  had  heard  about  Sir  Gilbert's  alleged  aspirations 
to  be  High  Commissioner.  As  I  was  well  aware  of 
the  conversations  that  had  taken  place  at  Ottawa,  I 
ventured  the  remark  that  I  thought  Sir  Gilbert 
Parker  could  do  Canada  great  service  in  many  ways 
as  High  Commissioner,  if  he  (Lord  Strathcona)  was 


262  LORD   STRATHCONA 

determined  to  resign.  "  Utterly  useless,  utterly  use- 
less !  He  would  only  use  the  office  to  get  into  the 
House  of  Lords.  That  is  all  he  wants  it  for,"  was 
his  reply.  It  was  evident  that  the  hour  had  not 
then  come  for  his  withdrawal.  Leading  politicians 
on  both  sides  of  the  House  would  gladly  have  heard 
of  his  resignation  any  time  within  the  last  six  or 
seven  years  of  his  life.  In  fact  it  was  confidently 
looked  for.  Both  sides  knew  that  any  suggestion 
from  one  would  mean  an  open  purse  for  election 
purposes  at  the  disposal  of  the  other.  Neither  party 
wanted  him  in  Canada,  each  being  fearful  of  his 
possible  support  of  the  other. 

Finally,  in  the  early  months  of  191 1,  he  announced 
that  the  Dominion  Day  dinner  would  be  the  last 
occasion  at  which  he  would  appear  in  public  as  High 
Commissioner  for  Canada.  He  requested  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier  to  make  the  official  announcement,  on  the 
evening  of  the  gathering,  that  he  desired  to  be  relieved 
from  the  cares  of  office.  The  occasion  when  Lord 
Strathcona  rose  to  address  the  company  was  exceed- 
ingly pathetic.  The  frail  figure  with  snow-white 
hair,  the  shoulders  drooping  with  the  burden  of  years 
far  beyond  the  allotted  span,  the  voice  faint  and 
trembling,  uttering  farewell,  sent  a  thrill  of  over- 
powering emotion  through  the  room.  It  was  the 
passing  away  of  a  great  character.  If  wealth,  honours 
and  success  meant  everything,  he  had  nothing  left  to 
desire.  But  he  had  already  grown  tired.  As  the  crowd 
withdrew  from  the  banqueting-hall  there  was  a  subdued 


PROMISED   RESIGNATION   WITHHELD     263 

feeling  of  sympathy  and  regret.  For  the  moment  one 
wished  that  history  could  be  rewritten,  or  blotted  out ! 

The  resignation  was  to  be  delivered  to  Sir  Wilfrid 
at  an  early  date.  The  Canadian  Prime  Minister 
offered  the  post  to  Sir  Frederick  Borden,  one  of  his 
most  faithful,  as  well  as  capable  colleagues,  who  had 
been  Minister  of  Militia  for  many  years.  At  Euston 
Station,  on  the  morning  of  Sir  Wilfrid's  departure 
for  Canada,  he  said  to  Lord  Strathcona  in  his  usual 
urbane  manner :  "  Allow  me  to  introduce  your 
successor,  Lord  Strathcona,"  pointing  to  Sir  Frederick. 
"  I  hope  you  will  enjoy  life  in  London,  Sir  Frederick ; 
it  is  a  pleasant  place  to  live  in,"  replied  the  High 
Commissioner.  Farewell  courtesies  were  exchanged 
and  the  train  was  off. 

Lord  Strathcona  returned  to  his  office.  A  chance 
visitor  found  him  in  a  deep  study.  He  said  that  he 
had  just  been  formally  introduced  to  his  successor  by 
Sir  Wilfrid,  and  it  seemed  like  breaking  all  associations 
with  the  atmosphere  in  which  he  had  lived  for  forty 
years.  Three  or  four  weeks  afterwards  a  cable  de- 
spatch appeared  from  Ottawa  in  the  London  Press 
that  Sir  Frederick  had  not  yet  been  appointed  High 
Commissioner  because  Lord  Strathcona's  official 
resignation  had  not  been  received  by  the  Premier. 
This  was  shown  the  same  day  to  Lord  Strathcona. 
His  reply  was  :  "  There  is  no  hurry,  there  is  no  hurry* 
is  there  ?  "  The  resignation  was  never  sent.  The 
same  day  that  the  news  was  confirmed  that  Sir  Wilfrid's 
Government  was  going  out,  he  took  passage  to  Ottawa, 


264  LORD   STRATHCONA 


and   on   arrival   naturally   paid   his   respects   to   the 
incoming  Premier. 

Few  men  had  more  personal  charm  than  Lord 
Strathcona.  In  his  relations  with  the  public  and  as  a 
host  nothing  could  exceed  his  grace  and  courtesy.  He 
might  have  belonged  to  the  ancient  regime.  The 
official  position  of  his  later  years  threw  him  into 
association  with  lifelong  opponents,  but  to  the  most 
extreme  of  these  he  never  lacked  politeness  and  friend- 
liness. Whatever  his  feelings  might  be,  and  he  was 
only  human,  his  mastery  over  himself  was  complete. 
This  was  a  strong  characteristic.  Nothing  could  dis- 
turb his  equanimity.  Many  who  affect  this  manner 
of  life  succumb  to  nervous  exhaustion  by  suppression 
of  the  natural  emotions.  Lord  Strathcona's  lengthened 
years  proves  his  heritage.  No  one  will  say  that  he 
carried  his  heart  on  his  sleeve — few  men  do.  Almost 
everyone  has  some  secret  that  the  world  has  no  right 
to  know.  His  fine  natural  manner  gave  all  the  im- 
pression that  he  was  as  free  and  open  as  the  sun. 

"  *  Let  us  be  open  as  the  day,* 

Quoth  he  who  doth  the  deeper  hide." 

Certainly  there  was  great  natural  kindness  in  his 
character, — his  splendid  gifts  to  universities  and 
hospitals  prove  this.  No  one  could  so  support  insti- 
tutions for  the  intellectual  and  physical  betterment 
of  his  fellow-men  without  deep  human  sympathies. 
For  friends,  too,  he  would  do  anything,  and  strangers 
in  need  rarely  appealed  to  him  in  vain.  He  gave  not 
grudgingly,   but   bestowed  generously.     With  oppo- 


HE   MIGHT  HAVE   BEEN  265 

nents,  or  those  who  crossed  his  will,  his  method  was 
to  try  first  to  win  them  over  without  any  of  the 
appearance  of  the  mailed  fist.  Courtesy  and  gold  were 
pressed  into  service  to  make  rough  places  smooth  and 
overcome  opposition.  But  if  the  subjects  of  his 
consideration  remained  obdurate,  then  he  crushed 
without  delay,  taking  pains,  however,  that  Strathcona's 
hand  was  never  seen  in  the  matter.  There  were  always 
others  willing  to  accept  the  responsibility.  He  de- 
veloped his  power  in  this  direction  into  a  science. 
He  never  allowed  himself  to  show  resentment.  So 
far  as  possible  he  avoided  arousing  thoughts  of  reprisals 
in  the  hearts  of  his  opponents.  However  the  end 
might  justify  the  means,  the  reason  for  the  means 
was  not  in  evidence — his  hand  was  never  visible.  In 
fact,  he  more  often  than  not  tempered  the  wind  to  the 
shorn  lamb,  with  an  appearance  of  personal  sympathy. 
Lord  Strathcona  had  great  qualities — his  foresight 
and  his  perseverance  amounted  to  genius.  He  could 
have  succeeded  in  any  walk  of  life.  He  had  some 
bent  towards  religion,  and  if  circumstances  had  led 
him  in  that  direction,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer, 
he  might  have  been  a  great  power,  leaving  a  name 
not  less  venerated  than  Wesley  or  Booth.  He  might, 
too,  have  been  a  great  statesman,  history  giving  him 
a  place  with  Clive  and  Rhodes.  The  opportunity 
was  there  for  one  who  had  the  diviner  dreams  and 
larger  loves  of  the  altruist  for  his  country.  He  had 
the  foresight  and  the  splendid  daring  of  genius.  But 
he  chose  personal  power  and  wealth  for  Donald  A. 
Smith.     That  opportunity,  also,  was  there  in  a  large 


266  LORD   STRATHCONA 

degree  only  possible  in  the  western  United  States 
and  Canada  forty  years  ago.  He  took  the  chance 
Fortune  offered  him,  played  for  enormous  stakes  with 
the  weapons  that  the  circumstances  of  the  time 
permitted  him  to  forge.  And  he  won.  He  deserved 
to  win.  He  gained  enormous  fortune,  immense 
power,  high  honours  for  himself — exceeding  in  all 
these  particulars  any  romantic  dreams  that  he  might 
have  indulged  in.  But  just  in  the  degree  that  Lord 
Strathcona  succeeded  for  himself,  it  is  a  question  for 
history  to  finally  decide,  whether  he  did  not  fail  in 
the  larger  test — that  of  true  and  noble  patriotism. 

The  story  of  his  life  is  written  upon  the  public 
records  of  the  country,  so  that  he  who  runs  may  read. 

Those  who  were  favoured  with  Lady  Strathcona's 
friendship  and  confidence  came  to  know  a  candid  and 
kindly  nature.  Her  perfect  frankness  was  her  charm. 
In  the  old  days  in  Labrador,  when  the  Indians  would 
gather  at  the  post  apparently  determined  to  make  a 
quasi  permanent  stay,  diplomatic  suggestions  from 
the  head  of  the  house  that  it  was  time  to  go  had  no 
effect  whatever.  She,  however,  took  a  hand  in  the 
dismissal,  treating  them  like  the  children  of  Nature 
that  they  were,  and,  as  the  writer  heard  her  tell  the 
story  of  her  experiences  in  this  particular,  she  said  : 
"  They  moved  quickly  for  me,  when  they  would  not 
budge  for  Donald  A." 

In  London  Lady  Strathcona  was  so  overshadowed 
by  the  official  and  personal  prominence  of  her  husband, 
that  many  who  only  casually  knew  her  as  the  social 
head  of  the  Canadian  circle  failed  to  appreciate  her 


A   CHARMING   PERSONALITY  267 

diffident  and  unassuming  womanliness.  Honesty  and 
candour  were  ever  present  in  her  intercourse  with 
people,  but  never  unkindness.  Entering,  as  Lady 
Strathcona  did,  the  highest  social  circles  of  the  Empire 
when  the  shadows  of  life  had  long  lengthened,  she 
never  lost  herself — there  always  remained  a  sweet 
personality.  Those  who  were  admitted  to  that  inti- 
macy will  always  have  the  pleasantest  recollections  of 
her  charm,  her  gentle  kindness,  and  her  sympathy. 

If  sometimes  she  wished  for  more  of  the  quietness 
of  family  life,  and  less  incessant  social  demands — the 
part  of  life  in  which  Lord  Strathcona  revelled,  it  is 
not  a  matter  of  surprise. 

During  Lord  Strathcona's  lease  of  Knebworth, 
nothing  gave  him  greater  pleasure  than  to  invite  friends 
there  for  the  week-end.  Upon  one  occasion  he  left 
word  at  Grosvenor  Square,  when  he  was  leaving  for 
the  day,  that  he  had  invited  Sir  Charles  and  Lady 
Tupper  to  go  to  Knebworth  with  them,  and  that 
Sir  Charles  was  to  send  a  message  whether  he  could 
go  or  not.  Just  at  the  moment  that  the  telephone 
rang  Lady  Strathcona  happened  to  be  in  the  hall. 
The  butler,  receiving  a  message,  turned  to  Lady 
Strathcona,  saying,  "  It  is  Sir  Charles  Tupper,  your 
Ladyship.  He  says  that  he  and  Lady  Tupper  will  be 
glad  to  go  to  Knebworth  this  afternoon."  "  Oh,  bother 
the  Tuppers,"  said  Lady  Strathcona,  "  I  don't  want 
them  at  Knebworth  this  week."  The  butler,  knowing 
Lord  Strathcona's  wishes,  did  just  what  any  well- 
trained  butler  would  have  done  under  the  circum- 
stances    and   replied   to    Sir    Charles   with   studied 


268  LORD   STRATHCONA 

decorum,  "  Lady  Strathcona  is  delighted  to  hear  you 
are  going,  and  will  meet  you  at  King's  Cross  Station 
at  three  o'clock."  The  last  shot  from  Lady  Strathcona 
before  the  'phone  was  hung  up  was,  "  You  have  no 
right  to  say  that." 

However  Sir  Charles  and  Lady  Tupper  were  at  the 
station  in  time  to  meet  the  other  guests  and  take  the 
train  for  Knebworth.  Sir  Charles  was  very  quiet. 
He  was  far  from  forgetting  what  he  had  heard  at  the 
other  end  of  the  'phone,  and  wondered  how  he  could 
even  up  with  the  little  woman  with  the  candid  tongue. 

During  dinner  Sir  Charles  turned  the  conversation 
to  the  general  convenience  of  the  modern  telephone. 
He  was  sitting  a  little  distance  from  Lady  Strathcona. 
Suddenly  addressing  her  he  said,  "  But  you  know, 
Lady  Strathcona,  telephones  are  very  dangerous  things 
to  have  around  sometimes."  "  Are  they  indeed,  Sir 
Charles  ?  Do  tell  me  how,  because  I  am  very  near  ours 
quite  often."  The  company  was  all  attention  as  Sir 
Charles  leaned  over,  and  with  a  kindly  smile  said, 
"  Yes,  very  dangerous,  Lady  Strathcona,  because  I 
heard  every  word  you  said  to-day  when  I  'phoned  to 
Grosvenor  Square."  Quick  as  a  flash  the  reply  came, 
"  Well,  Sir  Charles,  I  meant  every  word  of  it."  Of 
course  the  company  insisted  upon  hearing  the  story, 
which  was  told  by  Lady  Strathcona  amid  roars  of 
laughter,  in  which  Sir  Charles  joined  most  heartily. 
In  conversation  after  the  ladies  had  retired  from  the 
dining-room,  Sir  Charles  said  good-humouredly, 
"  Lady  Strathcona  is  too  sharp  for  me,  but  I  do  enjoy 
her  candour." 


XXIX 

Lord  Strathcona's  Will — Cancellation  [of  Canadian  loans — Securing 
friends  in  high  places — Sir  George  E.  Foster — Sir  Richard 
Cartwright  ruined  by  rival  company — The  great  Samson  shorn 
of  his  strength — Bleeding  the  Canadian  public — Comparison 
with  British  procedure — Winnipeg — An  unforgiven  offence — 
The  unaccepted  atonement. 

Under  Lord  Strathcona's  Will,  which  was  probated 
in  New  York,  he  left  his  Scottish  estates  and  half  a 
million  of  money  to  the  heirs  succeeding  to  the  title. 
Subject  to  a  number  of  legacies,  Lord  Strathcona 
bequeathed  the  residue  of  his  estate  to  his  daughter, 
now  Lady  Strathcona.  Among  the  legacies  are  the 
following  : — 

St.  John's  College,  Cambridge  (in  addition  to         £ 

£10,000  given  during  his  lifetime)  .      .         10,000 
Royal   Victoria    College,    Montreal   (under 
deduction  of  any  payments  made  during 
his   lifetime,   and   in   addition   to   the 
College  buildings  and  site  provided  by 
him  at  a  cost  of  about  £80,000)  .      .      .     200,000 
Royal  Victoria  Hospital,  Montreal  .      .      .       100,000 
Yale  University,  Connecticut,  U.S.A.  .      .     100,000 
University  of  Aberdeen  for  Chair  of  Agri- 
culture                5,000 

Leanchoil  Cottage  Hospital,  Forres  .     .     .       10,000 

269 


270  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Queen  Alexandra  Extension  Home  and  Hos- 
pital for  Incurables,  Streatham  .      .      .       £2,000 
National    Hospital  for  Paralysed  and  Epi- 
leptics           2,000 

London  University   College   Hospital  .      .         2,000 

Middlesex    Hospital 2,000 

Church    of    Scotland,    Aged    and    Infirm 

Ministers'  Fund 10,000 

Queen's    University,    Kingston,    Canada, 

Extension  Fund 20,000 

Principal,   Church  of  Canada  Presbyterian 

College,  Montreal 12,000 

"  £1,000  to  my  godson,  son  of  Mrs.  Arthur  Jameson, 
of  Dorcourt,  Red  Hill. 

"  £1,000  to  my  godson,  Baden- Powell. 

"  £1,000  to  Rupert  Anson,  son  of  Lord  Lichfield. 

"  £1,000  to  Neil  McGrigor,  younger  son  of  Sir  James 
D.  McGrigor,  baronet. 

"  £1,000  to  my  god-daughter,  the  daughter  of  Sir 
Peter  Stewart  Bam. 

"  £1,000  to   my  trusted  friend,   William   Gar  son, 
Writer  to  the  Signet,  Edinburgh. 

"  £1,000  to  J.  G.  Colmer,  who  has  given  me  valuable 
assistance  for  many  years. 

"  £1,000  to  James  Garson,  Writer  to  the  Signet, 
Edinburgh. 

"  £1,000  to  W.  L.  Griffith,  at  present  secretary  to 
the  High  Commissioner  for  Canada. 

"  £1,000  to  Principal  Adam  Smith,   of  Aberdeen 
University,  personally. 


REMEMBERING   FRIENDS  271 

"  1,000  guineas  to  Sir  Thomas  Barlow,  in  addition 
to  the  legacy  of  a  similar  amount  left  to  him  in  my 
Will. 

"  S00  guineas  to  Dr.  Pasteur,  in  addition  to  the 
legacy  of  similar  amount  left  to  him  in  my  Will. 

"  An  annuity  of  £100  during  her  lifetime  to  Miss 
Sydney  Stuart. 

"  An  annuity  of  ^120  jointly  during  their  lives  and 
to  the  survivor  to  the  two  daughters  of  son  of  my  Uncle, 
Patrick  Stuart,  at  one  time  Town  Major  of  Belfast. 

"  An  annuity  of  £150  to  Margaret  McLennan,  for 
many  years  my  late  wife's  maid  and  personal  help, 
also  a  useful  attendant  of  myself. 

"  A  legacy  of  .£1,000  to  Principal  William  Peterson, 
of  McGill  College,  personally. 

"  A  legacy  of  £300  to  Robert  Garson,  to  assist  him 
to  complete  his  studies. 

"  A  legacy  of  £250  to  Christy  E.  Mackay,  Montreal. 

11  A  legacy  of  £250  to  Rosa  Pitts,  at  one  time  trained 
nurse  to  my  late  wife. 

"  I  specially  request  my  daughter  and  other  trustees 
to  contribute  generally  as  they  know  I  would  do  for 
the  benefit  of  all  personal  servants,  including  Abraham 
May,  my  assistant  secretary,  and  all  others  who  may 
be  in  my  service  at  my  death,  according  to  length  and 
value  of  their  services. 

"  Retired  Chief  Factor,  Roderick  MacFarlane,  and 
other  retired  factors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
who  are  now  receiving  a  reduced  allowance,  each 
during  his  lifetime,  but  in  different  proportions  one 


272  LORD   STRATHCONA 

from  the  other,  to  be  given  out  of  my  estate  not 
exceeding  one-half  of  what  each  gets  from  the  Company, 
the  allowance  in  each  case  ceasing  on  the  death  of  the 
individual  and  the  highest  proportion  allowed  to  any 
one  individual  not  to  exceed  £50  annually. 

LEGACY   AND    ESTATE   TO    HIS    STEPSON 

"  In  trust  for  James  Hardisty  Smith,  named  in  my 
Will,  and  his  children,  a  sum  of  £5,000,  in  addition  to 
the  sum  of  £25,000,  mentioned  in  the  fifth  article  of 
my  Will,  and  subject  to  the  same  conditions  in  all 
respects." 

BEQUEST   TO    NIECES 

The  trustees  are  directed  to  invest  £20,000  and 
pay  the  income  thereof  to  "  my  niece,  Margaret  M. 
Smith,  of  Stuart  Lodge,  Polworth  Terrace,  Edinburgh, 
daughter  of  my  late  brother,  John  Stuart  Smith,  M.D.," 
and  upon  her  death  to  her  issue,  "  whom  failing,  to 
her  sister  Mrs.  Eliza  Jane  Grant,  of  Thornhill,  Forres, 
widow  of  the  late  Robert  D.  Grant,  whom  failing,  to 
the  children  of  the  said  Eliza  Jane  Grant,  and  the 
issue  of  any  children  who  may  have  predeceased,  such 
taking  their  parents'  share,  and  the  said  legacy  shall 
vest  when  the  same  becomes  payable." 

Also  £20,000  to  be  invested  for  the  said  Eliza  Jane 
Grant,  and  upon  her  death  to  her  issue. 

REMISSION    OF    DEBTS 

"  I  remit  and  cancel  the  debts  owing  to  me  by  (1) 
the  estate  of  the  late  Right  Hon.  Richard  Cartwright, 
(2)  the  estate  of  the  late  Lieut. -Colonel  William  White, 


AN  ENORMOUS   FORTUNE  273 

one  time  Deputy  Postmaster-General  of  Canada,  (3) 
the  Hon.  George  E.  Foster. 

TO    MR.    BURNS    FOR    THE    LEPERS 

"  Further,  I  give  and  bequeath  to  the  Right  Hon. 
John  Burns  the  sum  of  £5, 000  for  the  purpose  of  a 
home  and  maintenance  for  a  number  of  some  fifty 
lepers  in  the  United  Kingdom,  but  none  of  this  sum 
to  be  expended  on  or  for  other  lepers  who  may  come 
into  the  United  Kingdom. 

TO    LADY   STRATHCONA   AND    HER   CHILDREN 

"  I  direct  my  trustees  to  pay,  convey  and  transfer 
to  Margaret  Charlotte  Howard,  in  the  event  of  her 
surviving  me,  the  whole  residue  of  my  means  and 
estate,  heritable  and  movable,  real  and  personal, 
wherever  situated,  and  in  the  event  of  the  said  Margaret 
Charlotte  Howard  predeceasing  me,  I  direct  my 
trustees  to  hold  the  said  residue  until  the  youngest  of 
her  children,  wrho  shall  survive  me,  attain  the  age  of 
twenty-one." 

Lord  Strathcona's  Will  was  also  rendered  for  probate 
at  Somerset  House,  May  26th,  1914.  The  value  of 
personal  estate  in  the  United  Kingdom,  £418,500; 
personal  estate  abroad,  £4,232,000;  total  value  of 
personal  estate,  £4,651,000.  The  estate  duty  payable 
was  £837,000. 

The  principal  property  consisted  of  :  Great  Northern 
Railway  in  the  United  States,  $6,606,000 ;  Northern 
Pacific    Railway  of   the   United    States,  $3,380,000; 


274  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  $4,112,000;  Bank  of  Mon- 
treal, $645,000 ;  Laurentine  Company  of  Quebec, 
$466,000 ;  Dominion  Steel  Corporation,  $400,000 ; 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  £248,000 ;  Anglo-Persian 
Company,  £56,000 ;  Baring  Brothers,  £44,000. 

The  statement  was  made  in  the  House  of  Commons 
that  Lord  Strathcona  held  £1,000,000  Ordinary  Stock 
in  the  Anglo-Persian  Oil  Company.1  It  was  well  known 
that  he  held  various  other  stocks  of  considerable  value 
in  numerous  companies.  As  no  record  of  them  appears 
in  the  probate  statement,  colour  is  lent  to  the  rumour 
that  was  going  the  rounds  a  few  years  ago,  that  a  large 
part  of  his  estate  had  been  distributed  long  before  his 
death,  when  his  wealth  was  placed  at  a  much  higher 
figure  than  his  actual  possessions  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

A  clause  in  Lord  Strathcona's  Will  that  aroused 
mingled  feeling  of  surprise  and  dismay  in  Canada  was 
the  public  cancellation  of  alleged  indebtedness  to  him 
by  the  late  Sir  Richard  Cartwright  and  Sir  George 
Foster,  formerly  Ministers  of  Finance  in  Liberal  and 
Tory  Governments.  The  latter  is  now  Minister  of  Trade 
and  Commerce,  as  the  former  was  in  the  recent 
Government.  Sir  George  Foster  represents  Canada 
on  the  Imperial  Trade  Commission.  Why  the  public 
should  have  been  taken  into  confidence  in  these 
transactions  in  this  manner,  when  there  were  others 
of  a  similar  character,  must  ever  remain  a  mystery. 
There  were  certainly  no  public  reasons  why  these 
statesmen  should  receive  exceptional  treatment  in  this 

1  Appendix,  13. 


UNLOOKED-FOR   PUBLICITY  275 

respect  at  his  hands.     The  clause  in  the  Will  was 
evidently  inserted  after  the  death  of  Sir  Richard. 

Sir  George  Foster,  like  many  Colonials  has  had  a 
varied  career.  He  owes  his  prominence  in  public  life 
less  to  personal  popularity  than  to  natural  ability. 
Next  to  Sir  Charles  Tupper  he  stood  head  and  shoulders 
over  all  the  others  of  his  party  as  a  fine  public  speaker  : 
impressive,  brilliant,  incisive  and  extraordinarily  critical 
of  political  opponents.  Formerly  Professor  of  Litera- 
ture in  a  New  Brunswick  college,  he  soon  learned  that 
a  man  hath  no  honour  in  his  own  country.  He  went 
west  to  Ontario  where  a  Prohibition  campaign  was  in 
full  swing,  being  received  as  the  guest  of  the  President 
of  the  Temperance  League,  Mr.  D.  B.  Chisholm,  a 
prominent  Liberal  and  wealthy  citizen  of  Hamilton. 
His  host  gladly  engaged  him  as  a  speaker  at  $10  (.£2) 
per  meeting.  He  soon  established  a  reputation  for 
platform  oratory,  with  the  result  that  he  successively 
entered  the  political  field  in  his  native  province  as  an 
independent  temperance  candidate  for  the  House  of 
Commons  in  1882. 

Sir  John  Macdonald,  always  on  the  look-out  for 
new  talent,  in  1885  offered  Mr.  Foster  a  seat  in  the 
Cabinet,  promoting  him  in  1888  to  the  responsible 
position  of  Finance  Minister.  He  held  this  office 
during  the  successive  changes  in  the  Cabinet  under 
Sir  John  Abbott,  Sir  John  Thompson,  and  Sir  Macken- 
zie Bowell.  In  the  session  of  1896  he  joined  the  cabal 
within  the  Cabinet  against  the  Premier.  He  was  one 
of  the  six  Ministers  who  tendered  their  resignations, 


276  LORD   STRATHCONA 

and  sat  on  the  cross  benches  of  the  House  of  Commons 
for  several  weeks,  during  which  time  Government 
business  came  to  a  standstill. 

He  was  deeply  indebted  to  the  First  Minister,  Sir 
Mackenzie  Bowell,  as  the  latter  had  used  his  kind 
offices  with  Lady  Aberdeen  in  a  matter  of  deep  personal 
concern  to  Sir  George  Foster,  but  gratitude  and 
loyalty  were  never  Sir  George's  strong  points.  The 
determination  to  deprive  Sir  Mackenzie  of  the  leader- 
ship of  the  party  on  the  occasion  of  the  resignation 
of  half  his  Cabinet,  is  strong  evidence  of  the  decadence 
of  the  party  at  that  particular  period.  And  the 
bitterness  that  existed  between  the  factions  may  be 
better  understood  from  the  statement,  that  when  the 
returns  were  published  in  the  evening  of  the  general 
election  of  1896,  announcing  the  defeat  of  the 
Government  of  which  Sir  George  Foster  was  a 
member,  the  Bowell  family  joined  in  the  public 
jubilation  of  the  Liberals. 

Sir  George  Foster  came  to  London  to  take  part  in 
the  Tariff  Reform  propaganda  in  1904,  with  a  chance 
of  permanently  remaining  in  England.  Although  on 
the  question  of  Protection  he  has  probably  no  equal 
on  the  platform,  his  presentation  of  the  case  did  not 
meet  with  general  favour.  The  Tariff  Reform  Com- 
mittee vainly  offered  London  newspapers  sixpence 
per  line  to  print  a  risumt  of  his  speeches.  The 
whirligig  of  time  brought  its  revenge,  however,  in 
191 2,  on  his  return  to  London  as  a  member  of 
Sir  R.   L.   Borden's  Cabinet,  when  he  became  the 


THE   INCONVENIENCE   OF  POVERTY     277 

honoured  guest  of  the  Constitutional  Club,  and  had 
his  every  utterance  chronicled  with  great  eclat.  Sir 
George  Foster's  financial  position  was  not  flourishing 
during  the  long  period  when  his  party  was  out  of 
office.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  personal  rancour 
introduced  into  Canadian  politics  in  the  last  thirty 
years  has  often  followed  faithful  public  services  into 
private  life,  and  not  infrequently  crippled  individual 
earning-capacity.  Poverty  is  no  crime,  but  extremely 
inconvenient ;  then  wealth  in  the  hands  of  other 
parties  may  be  a  cause  of  offence.  It  is  as  hard  to 
kick  against  wealth  as  it  was  for  Saul  to  kick  against 
the  pricks.  Borrowing  money  from  Lord  Strathcona 
was,  perhaps,  natural  enough.  Lord  Strathcona  could 
afford  it,  and  was  willing  to  lend.  If  the  debt  had  not 
been  cancelled  in  the  Will,  a  discriminating  public  need 
not  have  been  called  upon  to  take  an  interest  in  the 
matter. 

It  is  a  strange  coincidence  in  regard  to  these  trans- 
actions that  Sir  Richard  Cartwright  and  Sir  George 
Foster  were  both  ex-Finance  Ministers,  and  during 
the  years  they  were  in  opposition,  that  particular 
portfolio  should  have  been  ear-marked  for  them 
both,  against  the  time  when  fortune  should  favour 
their  respective  parties.  The  intrigue  to  keep  Cart- 
wright  out  of  office  was  because  it  was  feared  his 
official  policy  would  be  on  a  line  with  his  public  declara- 
tions. But  there  was  no  wire-pulling  necessary  to 
prevent  Foster  being  Finance  Minister  when  Sir  R.  L. 
Borden   formed   his   Government.     It   had   recently 


278  LORD   STRATHCONA 

been  proved  before  a  Royal  Commission  that  Sir 
George  Foster  had  negotiated  for  a  secret  commission 
to  himself,  while  manager  of  the  Union  Trust  Com- 
pany, in  a  large  financial  deal.  The  editor  of  the 
Toronto  Globe  repeated  the  charge  in  a  very  offensive 
manner,  and  Sir  George  Foster  entered  an  action  for 
libel,  but  lost  the  case.  Sir  George's  excessive  humilia- 
tion was  all  that  his  most  bitter  opponents  could  desire. 
But  he  received  many  expressions  of  sympathy  from 
prominent  Liberals,  as  no  public  man  worthy  of  the 
name  could  rejoice  in  any  stigma  being  attached  to 
one  who  had  been  prominently  in  the  service  of  the 
country.  Foster's  mistake,  which  may  well  be  called 
merely  an  error  of  judgment,  cost  him  the  portfolio 
of  Finance.  Important  financial  negotiations  were 
pending,  and  therefore,  another  was  elected  for  the 
post  who  was  sans  peur  et  sans  reproche. 

The  other  beneficiary  under  the  Will  was  Sir  Richard 
Cartwright,  once  the  bulwark  of  the  Liberal  party, 
respected  by  friend  and  foe  for  his  dauntless  courage 
and  unflinching  integrity.  From  none  had  come 
more  impassioned  denunciations  of  those  in  public 
life  who  accepted  favours  from,  or  placed  themselves 
under  the  influence  of,  the  Pacific  Railway  magnates. 
For  many  years  he  was  most  bitterly  hated  by  the 
Tory  party.  He  was  blamed  for  the  strong  language 
that  he  used  against  the  evils  of  the  time.  His 
justification  was  his  desire  to  protect  public  interests. 
In  his  fighting  years  he  was  the  leader  of  the  Radical 
and   anti-syndicate   Liberals.     All  young   Liberalism 


EVER   WATCHING   FOR  PREY  279 

had  been  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  this  Gamaliel. 
Because  it  would  probably  ruin  Cartwright's  holdings 
in  another  company,  Tory  Members  were  canvassed 
to  vote  for  certain  legislation  incorporating  a  sub- 
sidiary company  in  the  interest  of  the  syndicate. 
Dating  from  the  formation  of  that  company  Sir 
Richard  was  crippled  financially.  Opportunities  had 
not  been  wanting  in  his  public  life  to  secure  wealth, 
but  he  was  unimpeachable. 

Shortly  after  the  formation  of  the  Laurier  Govern- 
ment in  1 896,  to  the  surprise  of  his  friends,  Cartwright 
became  very  sympathetic  to  the  Pacific  Railway 
demands.  Lord  Strathcona  was  well  aware  of  Cart- 
wright's  financial  difficulties,  and  he  had  transferred  to 
him  a  large  number  of  shares,  representing  a  consider- 
able sum  of  money,  in  a  company  that  Cartwright 
was  slightly  interested  in.  The  correspondence  gives 
evidence  of  Strathcona  having  heard  Cartwright  say 
in  the  presence  of  friends,  that  he  wished  he  had  a 
larger  holding  in  a. certain  company.  When  Strath- 
cona returned  to  London  he  sent  these  shares  to 
Cartwright,  telling  him  at  the  same  time  that  he 
could  pay  for  them  at  his  convenience.  This  was 
apparently  done  without  any  prearrangement.  It 
was,  therefore,  a  strictly  confidential  transaction,  as 
was  also  Mr.  Foster's,  and  probably  for  that  reason 
all  the  more  objectionable  from  a  public  standpoint. 
Money  as  a  direct  bribe  could  not  have  bought  either 
Sir  Richard  Cartwright  or  Mr.  Foster.  But  Sir 
Richard's  necessity  was  Lord  Strathcona's  opportunity. 


280  LORD   STRATHCONA 

No  one  could  have  a  stronger  sense  of  gratitude 
than  a  high-souled  man  like  Cartwright.  This  fine 
phase  of  his  character  now  proved  his  weakness.  In 
Strathcona's  hands  he  became  as  clay  to  the  potter. 
From  this  time  he  was  dominated  by  the  man  who 
had  come  to  his  rescue  in  the  hour  of  his  need.  The 
Will  revealed  in  this  unmistakable  manner  how  deeply 
the  canker  had  eaten  into  the  body  politic,  when  even 
the  great  Samson  of  Canadian  Liberalism  was  shorn 
of  his  power. 

The  Department  of  Trade  and  Commerce  is  specially 
responsible  for  the  Government  policy  respecting 
steamship  services.  The  Canadian  Pacific  has  enor- 
mous dealings  with  this  branch  of  the  public  service. 
There  is  no  denying  the  fact  that  since  these  loans 
were  made  the  annual  subsidy  to  the  syndicate  Pacific 
Ocean  service  has  been  largely  increased  ;  the  Atlantic 
service  has  been  treated  with  even  greater  generosity ; 
regulations  have  brought  into  force  that  the  preferen- 
tial tariff  of  thirty-three  per  cent,  upon  British  goods 
shall  only  be  allowed  on  steamships  sailing  direct  to 
Canadian  ports ;  and  Atlantic  mails,  unless  specially 
endorsed,  are  sent  by  Canadian  steamship  lines.  The 
value  of  these  concessions  to  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  is  simply  enormous. 

How  completely  Lord  Strathcona  dominated  the 
department  as  soon  as  he  had  Sir  Richard  Cartwright 
under  compliment,  was  further  illustrated  in  another 
phase  of  departmental  policy.  In  1904  Sir  Richard 
gave  the  writer  instructions  to  arrange  for  commodious 


HOW  DEPARTMENTS  WERE  CONTROLLED    281 

offices  in  London  for  his  department,  with  a  view  to 
encouraging  British  trade  on  much  the  same  lines  as 
Clifford  Sifton  was  doing  with  emigration.  It  was 
intended  to  appoint  an  official  who  would  not  be 
connected  with  the  office  of  the  High  Commissioner ; 
but  Lord  Strathcona  cabled  his  objections  to  a  policy 
whereby  any  official  of  that  department  should  be  free 
from  responsibility  to  his  office.  Negotiations  for 
offices  were  held  up.  Sir  Richard  tried  to  overcome 
Strathcona's  objections.  But  arguing  with  one  to 
whom  you  are  indebted  is  like  getting  annoyed  with 
a  telephone — utterly  useless.  Cartwright  reluctantly 
abandoned  the  project,  and  told  the  writer  after- 
wards that  he  did  not  carry  out  his  intentions  because 
of  Lord  Strathcona's  opposition.  The  influences  at 
work  to  so  effectively  change  departmental  policy 
were  inexplicable  then,  inasmuch  as  Sir  Richard 
seldom  turned  back  once  having  set  his  hand  to  the 
plough.  Now  the  reasons  are  only  too  self-evident. 
Through  the  medium  of  this  Will  Lord  Strathcona's 
dead  hand  has  been  stretched  out  to  deface  the  memory 
of  one  upon  whose  shield  there  had  been  no  stain. 

The  full  extent  of  Lord  Strathcona's  influence  with 
the  Department  of  Trade  and  Commerce  will  never 
be  known,  but  it  was  vastly  more  serious  than  in  the 
matter  already  referred  to.  No  steps  whatever  were 
taken  by  him  to  protect  the  Canadian  public  against 
the  enormous  increase  in  the  freight  and  emigrant 
rates  of  the  heavily  subsidized  Atlantic  services  con- 
trolled   by    the    Canadian    Pacific    syndicate.      The 


282  LORD   STRATHCONA 

co-operation  of  these  companies  renders  the  North 
Atlantic  Combine  effective,  and  the  direct  cost  of 
the  Combine  to  Canada  is  enormous.  The  recent 
doubling  of  the  freight  rates  on  grain  and  flour  alone 
takes  millions  of  dollars  annually  out  of  the  pockets  of 
the  hard-working  agricultural  masses  of  the  Dominion, 
before  these  products  can  reach  the  British  market. 

The  debts  that  were  owing  to  Lord  Strathcona  by 
responsible  Ministers  of  the  Crown  in  the  Dominion, 
which  he  so  calmly  provided  should  be  publicly 
announced  in  his  Will,  present  a  most  extraordinarily 
interesting  situation.  The  sordid  significance  of  the 
matter,  though,  is  painful.  Students  of  British 
Parliamentary  institutions  may  well  be  astounded  at 
these  revelations.  Comparison  in  the  administration 
of  public  affairs  between  the  Colonies  and  the  Mother- 
country  are  sometimes  made.  In  the  "  possessions 
beyond  the  seas  "  there  should  be  as  high  a  conception 
of  the  proprieties  of  political  life  as  at  Westminster. 
In  South  Africa  and  the  Antipodes  it  is  so.  The 
situation  in  Canada  unfortunately  is  otherwise.  The 
frank  explanations  and  regrets  that  were  considered 
necessary  following  the  Marconi  transactions  will  long 
be  remembered.  But  what  would  be  thought  of  the 
First  Minister  and  Secretary  of  War  borrowing 
money  from  Kynochs — of  the  First  Lord  of  the 
Admiralty  obtaining  a  loan  from  Armstrong-Whit- 
worths — or  the  Postmaster-General  from  Signor 
Marconi — or  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  from 
the  Tobacco  Trust  on  the  eve  of  a  budget  ?  Is  it 
necessary  to  say  that  the  nation  would  hang  its  head 


WINNIPEG  NEVER  FORGIVEN  283 

in  shame,  honoured  names  would  be  buried  in  oblivion, 
and  neither  wealth  nor  position  could  protect  the 
participating  contractors  and  trusts  from  an  indignant 
public.  This  also  was  the  generally  accepted  standard 
of  political  life  in  the  Dominion  previous  to  the 
advent  of  Donald  A.  Smith  into  the  Parliamentary 
arena  at  Ottawa. 

It  is  perhaps  interesting  to  note  that  the  western 
prairie  city,  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  headquarters 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  has  no  mention  in 
Lord  Strathcona's  Will.  There  is  nothing  to  mark 
his  association  with  that  great  outpost  of  civilization, 
from  whence  the  Company  exercised  such  undisputed 
sway  over  scattered  tribes  of  uncivilized  Indians. 
The  reason  why  Winnipeg  was  omitted,  notwith- 
standing its  needs  for  hospital  and  university  extension, 
is  not  a  secret.  Winnipeg  as  a  part  of  the  electoral 
district  of  Selkirk,  under  the  widened  franchise, 
declined  to  elect  Donald  A.  Smith  as  its  representa- 
tive to  the  Commons  in  1880.  Colonel  Scott,  a  rough 
western  diamond,  contested  the  seat  against  the  great 
railway  magnate — and  the  people  chose  Scott.1  The 
election  in  question  was  conducted  under  severe 
conditions.  The  other  candidate  was  popular  and  a 
resident,  and  Donald  A.  was  neither.  This  is  not  said 
in  personal  disparagement,  because  he  was  absent  from 
the  west  a  great  deal,  and  he  had  other  much  more 
important  matters  in  hand  than  endeavouring  to  curry 
favour  with  the  shifting  population  of  the  new 
settlement. 

1  Appendix,  18. 


284  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Nearly  thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  then.  Win- 
nipeg has  grown  to  be  a  city  with  a  population  of 
125,000.  Its  citizens  are  not  those  of  its  early  days, 
but  the  action  of  a  place  called  Winnipeg  was  never 
forgotten. 

As  are  the  needs  of  Winnipeg,  so  are  they  of  the 
western  provinces.  In  the  public  schools  of  Winnipeg 
thirteen  different  nations  or  languages  are  now 
represented.  Into  that  country  people  of  every 
kindred,  nation  and  tongue  will  flock  for  many  years. 
They  will  require  hospitals  and  colleges  more  than 
the  thickly  populated  east.  Perhaps  the  population 
in  the  distant  future  will  read  history  and  execrate 
the  memory  of  those  who  opposed  Donald  A.  Smith 
in  1880.  In  the  meantime,  however,  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  who  have  made  their  homes  there  in 
the  last  twenty  years  are  witnesses  to  his  munificent 
bounty  in  the  United  States,  Britain,  and  eastern 
Canada.  But  the  land  which  had  been  in  truth  to 
Lord  Strathcona  the  Golden  West,  the  land  both  of 
promise  and  of  fulfilment,  in  which  he  had  conceived 
his  inspirations  and  cradled  his  ambitions — this  land 
was  not  by  his  Will  to  have  any  of  that  stupendous 
fortune  whose  deepest  foundations  it  had  laid,  and 
the  corner-stone  set  when  the  rolling  prairie  laid  bare 
her  breast  to  the  golden  rivet  which  forged  the  last 
link  in  the  girdle  across  the  continent.  Yet,  his  wish 
was  that  none  of  the  wealth  that  this  wonderful 
country  had  so  freely  poured  into  his  outstretched 
hands  should  ever  return  to  help  her  even  in  the 
hour  of  need. 


A  DISAPPOINTED   DEPUTATION  285 

The  Winnipeg  of  a  generation  later  amply  atoned 
for  the  severity  of  its  early  judgment,  and  in  1909 
gave  Lord  Strathcona  a  reception  worthy  of  a  monarch. 
An  opportunity  was  afforded  him  of  delivering  the 
speech  that  was  impossible  so  long  as  Archbishop 
Tach6  was  alive.  Yes,  it  may  be  argued,  this  is 
all  true.  But  then  a  deputation  interviewed  him 
and  pressed  for  a  subscription  for  $1,000,000  (.£200,000) 
towards  the  Selkirk  Exhibition.  It  took  the  gloss  off 
the  good  feeling  of  the  hour.  Lord  Strathcona 
received  the  deputation  most  affably.  He  promised 
to  consider  their  request,  and,  if  convenient,  he 
would  let  them  know  his  decision  on  his  return  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  But  the  time  did  not  prove 
convenient — his  private  car  came  through  Winnipeg 
at  midnight,  the  hour  when  all  good  citizens  should 
be  in  bed.  The  deputation  that  was  at  the  station 
to  see  him  had  not  been  notified  that  he  was  coming, 
but  they  had  taken  their  own  means  to  keep  informed 
of  the  hour  of  his  probable  arrival.  There  was  no 
invitation  to  enter  the  darkened  car  with  the  closely 
drawn  blinds.  The  coloured  porter  "could  not 
possibly  allow  his  Lordship  to  be  disturbed."  Perhaps 
it  had  begun  to  dawn  on  Lord  Strathcona's  mind  that 
the  welcome  given  to  him  had  some  connection  with 
the  request  for  a  million  dollars.  It  is  quite  true  that 
behind  the  scenes  there  had  been  warm  discussions  as 
to  how  much  the  "  Grand  Old  Man "  could  be 
induced  to  "  cough  up." 

"  Some  one  had  blundered  !  " 


XXX 

What  Donald  A.  Smith  has  cost  Canada — Kingdom  stolen  from  the 
public  heritage — What  might  have  been  if  .  .  . — Public  obliga- 
tions to  be  met — What  the  future  will  cost — The  burden  bearers 
— Strathcona's  legacy  to  the  Dominion — Ottawa  and  West- 
minster— Hope  from  Laurier  and  Borden. 

The  cost  to  Canada  of    the    influence    that    Lord 

Strathcona   was   able   to   exercise   with    parliaments, 

governments    and    statesmen,    whereby   the    railway 

across  the  continent  passed  from  being  an  asset  of  the 

Dominion    into    the    possession    of    himself    and    his 

associates,  is  incalculable.     The  cash  subsidies  paid  to 

the  syndicate  for  the  construction  of  the  main  line ; 

special    subsidies    on    branch,    subsidiary    and    other 

subsidized  railways  absorbed  by  the  syndicate ;  and 

the  cost  of  the  sections  constructed  by  the  Government 

and  handed  over  to  the  syndicate  amounts  to  more 

than  $75,000,000(^15,000,000).     The  land  grants  for 

the  main  line,  and  to  other  companies  absorbed  by 

the  syndicate,  will  realize  not  less  than  $400,000,0000 

(£80,000,000). 

Add  to  these  figures  the  subventions  and  subsidies 

to  the  other  transcontinental  railways  that  had  at  last 

to   be   constructed   to   compete   with   the   Canadian 

Pacific,    heavily   subsidized   in    cash   and  guarantees, 

including  the  cost  of  the  part  of  the  Grand  Trunk 

286 


WHAT  HE   COST   CANADA  287 

Pacific  constructed  by  the  Government,  and  these 
items  aggregate  $600,000,000  (£120,000,000).  The 
value  of  the  land  grants  to  these  competing  systems 
runs  into  $50,000,000  (£10,000,000). 

These  items  aggregate  in  cash  and  land  values  the 
enormous  sum  of  $1,125,000,000  (£225,000,000)  : 
more  than  the  entire  cost  of  the  Boer  War  to  the 
tax-payers  of  Great  Britain.  In  the  case  of  the 
Boer  War  Great  Britain  secured  a  United  South 
Africa.  The  Dominion  on  the  other  hand  has  nothing 
but  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  railways  run- 
ning through  the  country  belong  to  others. 

To  this  add  the  indirect  cost  to  the  general  public 
by  the  imposition  of  exorbitant  freight-rates  upon 
the  toiling  masses  on  the  prairie  lands  of  the  west, 
and  the  figures  loom  up  in  a  haze  where  language 
fails  to  find  expression  in  arithmetical  calculations. 

But  that  is  not  all.  The  land-grabbing  that  followed 
the  adoption  of  the  principle  so  energetically  worked 
for  by  the  syndicate,  opened  the  door  for  the  wholesale 
robbery  of  the  public  lands  only  then  made  possible. 
Sir  J.  A.  M.  Aikens,  K.C.,  M.P.,  of  Winnipeg,  in  a 
speech  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  the  early  part  of 
May  1914,  made  the  astonishing  statement  that  no  less 
than  43,000,000  acres,  or  65,000  square  miles  of  land, 
all  in  the  fertile  belt  of  the  prairies,  the  finest  wheat- 
growing  land  in  the  world,  had  been  given  away  to 
railways  and  other  corporations  in  the  last  thirty  years. 

This  means  that  a  territory  nearly  twice  the  size 
of  Ireland,  or  an  area  larger  than  England  and  Wales, 
or    greater    than    Belgium,    Holland,    Denmark    and 


288  LORD   STRATHCONA 

Greece  together,  has  passed  out  of  the  possession  of 
the  people  of  Canada  for  no  return  whatever  to  the 
public  treasury.  This  may  seem  inconceivable,  but 
it  is  absolutely  true.  The  fact  becomes  more  evident 
than  ever,  that  if  Donald  A.  Smith  had  never  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  possession  of  the  charter  for  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  this  shameful  sacrifice  of 
an  invaluable  heritage  could  never  have  been  made. 

Had  the  Canadian  Government  expended  the 
necessary  part  of  the  $600,000,000  (£120,000,000) 
represented  in  the  form  of  cash  and  guarantees,  as 
Alexander  Mackenzie  and  the  patriots  who  supported 
him  loyally  decided  should  be  done,  the  Dominion 
would  own  to-day  every  mile  of  the  three  trans- 
continental lines.  This  calculation  makes  no  allowance 
for  the  value  of  the  land,  free  grants  of  which  to  cor- 
porations would  not  have  been  made,  but  the  proceeds 
from  which  would  be  a  national  asset. 

A  statement  of  these  facts  is  necessary  to  a  history 
of  the  times  to  which  reference  is  being  made.  It 
will  be  well  for  the  present  and  future  generations  to 
calmly  realize  the  consequences  following  injudicious, 
ill-advised,  or  corrupt  handling  of  a  national  heritage. 
The  people  have  not  finished  with  the  question  yet. 
Lord  Strathcona's  syndicate  will  be  the  ever-present 
death's-head  at  the  feast  for  many  years.  The  account 
is  far  from  being  settled.  More  than  one  government 
will  come  and  go  before  the  bill  is  finally  paid. 

Enormous  grants  have  been  made  to  competitive 
transcontinental  lines.  But  the  wealth  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  so  generously  endowed  by  the  public,  gives 


GRINDING  THE   FARMERS  289 

the  railway  a  tremendous  advantage  over  the  others. 
It  is  well  known  that  this  line  is  able  to  earn  a  good 
dividend  for  its  shareholders  upon  a  schedule  of  rates 
which,  if  generally  adopted,  might  seriously  affect 
the  financial  position  of  the  others ;  even  though  this 
is,  to  a  certain  extent,  compensated  for  by  the  much 
easier  grades  and  the  larger  train-loads  that  can  be 
transported  by  the  routes  adopted  on  the  later  con- 
structed lines.  The  general  public  interest  will 
demand,  however,  that  all  invidious  distinctions  shall 
not  be  allowed  to  continue. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  has  reduced  its  rates  only 
when  compelled  to  do  so  by  Parliament,  or  by  the 
Railway  Commission.  In  the  threatened  action  of 
the  latter,  the  attitude  of  the  Company  was :  "  Do  it 
if  you  will.  We  can  stand  it  better  than  the  others, 
and  your  securities  will  pay  the  difference  on  the 
London  market." 

The  public  must  either  pay  the  penalty  in  their 
financial  dealings  with  London,  or  the  farmers  must 
contribute  to  the  inflated  rates  for  the  delivery  of 
their  products  to  market-centres.  There  is  no  escape 
from  one  or  other  of  these  hard  facts.  And  sooner 
or  later  this  extraordinary  situation  will  have  to  be 
faced  by  Parliament. 

To  allow  present  conditions  to  continue  means  that 
the  hard-working  agriculturists  of  the  country — the 
class  that  should  be  encouraged  rather  than  trodden 
underfoot — must  bear  the  brunt  of  the  burden. 
This  is  one  of  the  great  problems  the  syndicate  has 
bequeathed  to  future  generations  in  Canada  to  solve. 


290  LORD   STRATHCONA 

The  west,  with  fifty  or  sixty  members  in  the  House 
of  Commons,  will  swing  the  pendulum  of  political 
supremacy.  No  party  lines  will  prevail.  The  greatest 
possible  measure  of  relief  will  be  demanded,  and  the 
demand  will  not  be  as  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness. 
One  or  two  alternatives  will  have  to  be  faced — to 
cancel  in  whole  or  in  part  the  loans  that  have  been 
made  by  the  Government  of  Canada  to  the  trans- 
continental companies  competing  with  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  so  as  to  place  them  all  on  a  reasonably  even 
footing ;  or  secure  Government  control  of  these 
railways  at  an  additional  cost  to  the  Dominion 
Treasury  of  from  two  to  three  hundred  million 
dollars.  In  any  case  high  courage  will  be  demanded 
in  the  solution  of  this  problem. 

It  may  as  well  be  acknowledged  from  the  beginning 
that  the  wealthier  corporation  will  not  be  allowed  to 
absorb  or  control  either  of  the  transcontinental  com- 
peting lines.  A  deal  of  such  a  nature  would  be 
disastrous  to  too  many  "  vested  interests."  Public 
patience  would  then  reach  the  breaking-point. 

The  odds  are  that  the  situation  will  be  relieved  by 
the  abandonment  of  Government  claims  for  loans  or 
assistance  to  the  new  railways,  combined  with  a  far- 
reaching  policy  of  protection  to  the  producers  of  the 
country.  The  question,  until  it  is  permanently 
settled,  will  dominate  Canadian  politics  more  certainly 
than  Irish  interests  control  Westminster.  Until  it 
is  disposed  of  the  Dominion  will  be  overshadowed 
by  forces  which  threaten  to  sap  the  foundations  of 
the  liberty  of  the  people.     There  is  no  escape  to  any 


IF  PATRIOTISM  HAD   WON  291 

Government  from  the  penalty  of  neglecting  to  face 
their  responsibility  in  this  matter. 

The  agricultural  classes  of  the  Dominion  are  the 
backbone  of  the  country.  Without  the  wealth  that 
is  gathered  from  the  soil  Canada  would  be  bankrupt. 
Its  hope  for  greatness  is  in  its  agricultural  possibilities. 
But  as  a  class  the  farmers  are  the  least  likely  to  have 
their  interests  considered  by  Governments  and  Par- 
liaments in  North  America.  For  some  unexplained 
reason  the  urban  influence  predominates.  In  European 
countries  the  agricultural  population  is  looked  upon 
as  the  bulwark  of  the  state — the  source  of  wealth, 
strength  and  future  greatness.  In  every  Parliament 
their  requirements  receive  special  consideration ; 
Germany,  France,  Austria,  Hungary,  Holland,  Den- 
mark and  Scandinavia  telling  the  same  story.  The 
farmers  are  fast  reaching  the  point  when  they  must 
make  themselves  masters  of  the  situation  at  Ottawa. 
When  they  do,  the  electors  will  have  an  opportunity 
of  still  further  realizing  the  financial  obligations  that 
must  be  met  on  account  of  the  wealth  and  privileges 
that  their  legislators  in  1880  conferred  on  a  remarkable 
syndicate  of  presumptuous  "Empire-Builders." 

Instead  of  the  situation  as  it  is,  what  might  it  have 
been  had  Donald  A.  Smith  been  thrown  into  ordinary 
commercial  life  in  those  stirring  times  that  were 
taking  place  in  Old  Canada  on  his  arrival,  and  in  the 
subsequent  years  ?  Had  he  mingled  with  Papineau 
and  Taschereau,  Holton  and  Dorion,  Mackenzie  and 
Brown,  Gait  and  Howe,  perhaps  he  would  have  been 
moulded  like  one  of  them.     How  different  would  have 


292  LORD   STRATHCONA 

been  the  history  of  the  last  thirty  years !  What  a 
heritage  the  Dominion  would  now  possess !  If,  at 
times  as  he  went  his  way,  he  found  the  chains  galling 
that  bound  him  to  the  course  he  was  taking,  he  could 
comfort  himself  with  the  thought  that  they  were  one 
with  the  gold  which  was  ever  his  lodestar.  To  call 
Lord  Strathcona  an  "  Empire-Builder  "  is  a  misnomer. 
If  others  follow  in  his  footsteps  they  will  be  Empire- 
Wreckers. 

With  the  passing  of  Lord  Strathcona,  the  "  last  of 
the  Mohicans,"  members  of  the  original  syndicate  are 
not  now  identified  with  the  railway.  Two  of  the 
signatories  to  the  agreement  are  still  living, — J.  J.  Hill 
and  Lord  Mount  Stephen.  It  is  understood,  however, 
that  both  long  since  parted  with  their  shares.  The 
time,  therefore,  seems  opportune  for  an  abandonment 
of  the  policy  that  was  inaugurated  by  Lord  Strathcona 
and  his  associates,  and  is  still  continued,  to  justify 
the  active  participation  of  the  Montreal  management 
in  the  general  politics  of  the  Dominion. 

This  legacy  to  Canada  from  Lord  Strathcona  presents 
serious  aspects,  the  full  meaning  of  which  must  sooner 
or  later  be  thoroughly  understood  by  the  electorate. 
For  thirty  years  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  has 
been  a  dominating  force  in  the  Parliamentary  life  of 
the  Dominion.  Senators  and  Members  of  the  House 
have  been  publicly  retained  by  this  great  corporation. 
Cabinet  Ministers  have  borrowed  large  sums  from 
individual  members  of  the  syndicate,  which  they  were 
never  asked  to  repay.  The  acquiesence  of  Parliaments 
and    Governments    to    ever-recurrent    demands    of 


THE   HONOUR   OF   PARLIAMENT         293 

railway  lobbyists  was,  therefore,  obvious.  Directors 
of  the  company,  having  seats  in  Parliament,  with 
most  engaging  candour  and  frankness,  are  listened  to 
calmly  while  they  argue  in  favour  of,  or  in  opposition 
to  proposed  legislation  solely  from  the  standpoint  as 
to  how  the  interests  of  the  company  will  be  effected. 
Compared  with  representative  legislative  chambers 
throughout  the  world,  the  situation  in  Canada  has  no 
parallel.  It  is  inconceivable  to  any  student  of  British 
Parliamentary  institutions,  either  in  Great  Britain, 
New  Zealand,  Australia  or  South  Africa.  Yet  Cana- 
dian statesmen,  within  the  four  walls  of  Parliament, 
and  politicians  outside,  flatter  themselves  with  the 
idea  that  their  legislative  procedure  is  modelled  on 
the  lines  of  Westminster.  To  an  impartial  observer 
the  contrast  is  appalling !  The  slightest  suggestion 
that  a  Peer  was  acting  as  the  representative  of  any 
corporation,  or  that  a  commoner  owed  his  election 
to  the  assistance  or  influence  of  a  corporation  or  con- 
tractor in  receipt  of  grants  from  the  public  treasury, 
or  that  a  Cabinet  Minister  had  borrowed  large  sums 
of  money  from  anyone  whose  personal  interests  were 
involved  in  departmental  favours,  would  ensure  drastic 
action  by  both  sides  of  the  House.  Political  warfare 
in  English  public  life  is  bitter,  political  affiliations  are 
powerful,  but  the  honour  of  Parliamentary  represen- 
tation overshadows  every  other  consideration.  The 
domination  or  influence  of  Parliament  by  corporations 
or  contractors,  whether  earning  public  money  or 
not,  is  regarded  as  absolutely  incompatible  with  the 
dignity  and  purity  of  British  public  life. 


294  LORD   STRATHCONA 

If  there  is  one  national  characteristic  more  prominent 
than  another  which  impresses  all  visitors  to  Canada 
it  is  the  ardent  loyalty  of  the  people.  The  opinion 
finds  frequent  expression  that  "  Canadians  are  more 
loyal  than  the  King."  It  is  not  a  passing  sentiment, 
but  is  an  integral  part  of  the  national  life.  And,  yet, 
what  was  said  to  the  rich  young  man  may  be  repeated 
to  Canada,  "  One  thing  thou  lackest."  In  this  case 
it  is  an  appreciation  of  the  dignity  and  purity  of 
parliamentary  life.  The  Canadian  people  wish  to 
follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Mother-country.  With 
their  lips,  at  least,  looking  towards  Westminster,  they 
repeat  what  Ruth  said  to  Naomi:  "Whither  thou 
goest,  I  will  go.  Thy  people  shall  be  my  people.  Thy 
God  shall  be  my  God."  But  the  national  conscience 
has  been  seared  as  with  a  hot  iron.  This  is  the  result 
of  the  sordid  influences  exercised  in  Dominion  poli- 
tics from  the  time  the  possession  of  the  great  trans- 
continental railway  passed  from  the  Government  to 
the  Canadian  syndicate. 

The  immediate  hope  of  freeing  parliamentary  life 
from  such  a  legacy  is  threefold  :  the  leaders  of  the 
two  political  parties,  the  British  and  European 
directorate  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  the 
large  accession  in  recent  years  to  the  British-born 
population  of  the  Dominion. 

There  is  a  slumbering  force  throughout  the  Do- 
minion that  will  yet  insist  upon  Government  con- 
forming to  the  loftiest  British  traditions.  Sir  Wilfrid 
Laurier  and  Sir  R.  L.  Borden,  in  private  life  and 
public    ideals,    represent    the    highest    aspirations   of 


POLITICAL   LEADERS   WHO   ARE   PURE     295 

political  purity.  They  each  have  many  influential 
followers  who  would  gladly  purge  Parliament  of  every 
influence  that  is  inconsistent  with  the  honour  and 
dignity  of  a  healthy  democratic  administration. 
Whether  they  will  co-operate  or  act  independently  on 
this  question  remains  to  be  seen. 

There   may   be  justifiable   disagreement   with   the 
political  views  of  both  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  Sir 
R.  L.  Borden,  but  there  is  none  in  regard  to  their 
political    morality.     Not    a    breath    of    scandal    has 
touched  their  careers.     In  view  of  occasional  warped 
judgment  among  followers,  with  whom  each  has  had 
to  associate,  the  wonder  is  that  the  outlook  is  not  less 
favourable.     An  atmosphere  that  has,  in  a  more  or 
less   degree,   vitiated   the   political   arena   for   thirty 
years,   cannot   be  easily  purified.     It  may,  perhaps, 
only  be  altogether  successfully  accomplished  by  leaders 
yet  unknown.     But  progress  is  being  made  in  the 
right  direction.     Within  a  few  years  public  opinion 
will  demand  the  enactment  of  law,  rendering  election 
subscriptions  from  corporations  and  contractors  in- 
dictable offences,  and  interference  in  parliamentary 
elections  by  managers  of  corporations  that  have  been 
subsidized   by  the  public   treasury  punishable    with 
imprisonment.     Canada  will  never  have  freedom  of 
government    until    this    is    done.      The    Dominion 
Parliament  will  yet  be  free,  and  the  time  will  come 
when  no  political  leader  will  be  strong  enough  to  give 
a  portfolio  in  his  Cabinet  to  any  public  man  who  has 
accepted  money  from  those  having  dealings  with  the 
public  service. 


296  LORD   STRATHCONA 

If  the  British  and  foreign  directors  are  wise  they 
will  not  fail  to  insist  that  the  unwarranted  interference 
of  this  corporation  in  the  political  life  of  the  Dominion 
shall  cease. 

Then,  if  neither  of  these  influences  can  be  successfully 
exercised,  the  hope  of  the  Dominion  rests  with  the 
one  million  British  immigrants  who  have  settled  in 
Canada  during  the  last  fifteen  years  co-operating  with 
the  large  leaven  of  Canadian  honesty  that  has  been 
untouched  by  corruption.  The  British  immigrants 
know  how  untarnished  is  the  parliamentary  escutcheon 
of  the  Mother-country,  and  how  carefully  it  has  been 
protected  for  many  generations.  That  they  will 
desire  that  the  land  of  their  adoption  should  be 
marked  by  the  ideals  that  have  been  reached  through 
great  tribulation  in  this  country  there  should  be  no 
question. 

If  it  happens  that  the  people  of  Canada  are  only  to 
secure  a  Parliament  modelled  upon  British  ideals  as 
the  result  of  public  agitation,  it  may  be  taken  for 
granted  that  the  $10,000,000  (£2,000,000)  that  are 
freely  alleged  to  have  been  taken  from  the  corporation 
by  the  syndicate  and  those  in  charge  of  the  management 
of  the  railway,  to  corrupt  the  public  life  of  Canada, 
will  find  its  way  back  to  the  innocent  shareholders ; 
just  as  surely  as  the  British  Parliament  unanimously 
demanded  the  personal  repayment  of  the  £200  by 
the  Directors  of  the  London  and  North  Western  Rail- 
way, which  they  had  subscribed  from  the  company's 
funds  for  political  purposes.  The  plea  of  "  vested 
rights,"  or  the  Statute  of  Limitations,  will  not  avail. 


XXXI 

A  retrospect — The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  retarding  Canada — Thirty 
years  too  late — Romance  of  Canadian  life — Hope  for  the  future 
— A  fascinating  personality — The  records  of  irrevocable  history. 

The  Winnipeg  of  1907  should  have  been  in  existence 
thirty  or  forty  years  earlier.  Before  Canada  secured 
possession  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Territory  the  national 
life  of  the  country  had  been  crippled  from  lack  of 
opportunities  for  expansion.  The  farming  population 
of  the  old  provinces  had  reached  the  third  generation, 
and  they  had  to  look  around  for  new  homes.  It  is 
the  history  of  agricultural  life  in  Canada,  as  well  as 
in  the  United  States,  that  the  third  generation 
produces  the  development  of  a  character  that  neces- 
sitates either  a  larger  area  for  cultivation  than  is 
available  in  the  older  settlements,  or  is  inclined  to 
go  into  town  life.  There  was  no  room  for  such  on 
the  old  homesteads,  or  in  the  neighbouring  towns. 
To  remain  at  home,  and  have  the  family  property 
divided  and  redivided,  meant  limiting  their  capability 
and  narrowing  their  aspirations.  They,  therefore, 
were  compelled  to  look  elsewhere.  Many  to  whom 
these  conditions  applied  were  descendants  of  those 
United   Empire   Loyalists,   who  preferred,   after   the 

revolution  (1775-83),  to  settle  in  the  wilds  of  Canada, 

297 


298  LORD   STRATHCONA 

rather  than  live  under  the  flag  of  the  new  Republic ; 
others  were  the  descendants  of  the  first  immigrants 
from  Great  Britain ;  and  Lower  Canada  also  furnished 
a  large  quota  of  restless  spirits  for  whom  there  was 
no  room  around  the  old  firesides.  The  vast  majority 
of  these  would  rather  have  settled  somewhere  under 
the  British  flag.     But  there  was  no  place  available. 

That  portion  of  the  North  American  continent 
under  British  control,  which  should  have  furnished 
homes  for  all  of  them,  was  then  in  the  unrelenting 
grasp  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  They  had  kept 
it  thirty  years  too  long.  An  exodus  began  of  the 
flower  of  the  population  from  Canada  to  the  United 
States.  Once  having  started,  like  all  such  streams, 
it  grew  ever  larger  and  larger,  until  it  assumed  pro- 
portions that  were  absolutely  appalling.  The  latest 
official  returns  from  the  United  States  furnish  the 
proof  that  no  less  than  1,250,000  native-born  Canadians 
have  homes  in  the  Republic.  Without  question  they 
are  lost  to  the  British  Empire.  They  and  their  families 
at  this  moment  number  more  than  6,000,000  souls. 

Had  there  been  no  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  had 
the  company  not  deliberately  prevented  the  expansion 
of  western  Canada  for  so  many  decades  after  it  should 
have  been  open  to  the  world,  the  population  of 
Canada  would  now  be  nearer  twenty  than  seven 
millions.  If  the  Stuart  dynasty  blighted  English 
history,  it  also  cast  its  evil  spell  over  Canada  at  the 
time  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  chartered.  For 
the  sake  of  the  private  interests  of  a  few  friends  of 


HEROES  IN  THE  BACKGROUND    299 

the  monarch  who  wanted  to  traffic  with  a  public 
franchise,  an  incalculable  loss  of  millions  of  a  sturdy 
race  of  people  was  inflicted  on  the  Empire. 

Canada  has  had  its  fair  share  of  difficulties  in  the 
past.  It  has  been  struggling  mostly,  until  now,  with 
the  necessaries  of  life.  Romance  and  fancy  have  been 
largely  left  out  of  her  category  of  good  things.  But 
these,  with  the  other  sides  of  intellectual  life  will,  in 
course  of  time,  assert  themselves.  There  have  been 
many  men  in  Canada  whose  lives  would  furnish 
inspiration  for  poetry  and  romance.  Away  in  the 
interior,  in  the  lonely  struggles  of  the  early  pioneers, 
there  have  been  great  deeds  done,  and  these  have  left 
a  heritage  of  good  that  is  moulded  into  the  very  fibre 
of  the  people. 

The  country  has  not  been  without  its  hero-worship. 
That  is  inevitable  wherever  civilization  exists.  In  the 
early  days  this  was  to  be  found  in  the  memories  of 
General  Wolfe  and  General  Brock.  The  one  lost  his 
life  in  winning  a  continent  for  the  Empire,  the  other 
in  saving  it  from  the  invaders'  grasp  half  a  century 
later.  They  were  followed  by  the  heroes  of  the 
"  Family  Compact  " — a  class  modestly  satisfied  with 
securing  for  those  within  their  own  circle  the  offices 
of  emolument  at  the  disposal  of  the  Crown,  and  who 
guarded  the  public  lands,  with  an  almost  religious 
fervour,  as  a  sacred  heritage  for  those  who  might 
come  after.  Then  came  the  heroes  of  the  rebellion 
of  1837-39,  out  °f  whose  great  tribulation  appeared 
the  dawn  of   responsible  government.     The  money- 


300  LORD   STRATHCONA 

making  hero  is  now  prominent  in  Canadian  life.  The 
whole  community  vibrates  with  earnestness  before 
the  shrine  of  wealth.  The  charm  of  success  has  ap- 
pealed to  these  sober  people,  who  know  the  struggle 
and  toil  only  too  well,  and  who  are  everywhere  called 
on  to  judge  the  value  of  the  much  by  their  own  hard- 
earned  little. 

It  was  only  in  the  later  days  that  land-grabbers  and 
charter-hunters  appeared.  No  one  envies  either  their 
positions  or  their  riches,  but  the  time  has  come  when 
they  shall  not  continue  to  lay  unholy  hands  on  the 
ark  of  the  covenant — for  such  is  the  government  of 
the  country.  Ever  to  have  introduced  methods  into 
a  young  country  tending  to  lower  the  standard  of 
political  life  is  a  serious  offence — to  have  persisted  on 
that  line  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  is  criminal.  A 
young  country,  like  a  youth  entering  upon  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  manhood,  has  nothing  equal  in  value 
to  a  true  discrimination  between  right  and  wrong. 
Once  weaken  that  moral  sense  and  the  responsibility 
is  serious — to  continue  the  destroying  influence,  and  no 
palliation  can  be  offered  for  such  a  crime.  Parliaments 
were  created  to  wrench  from  Crowns  the  control  of 
public  interests  that  were  being  exercised  for  personal 
gain.  They  were  never  intended  as  media  for  the 
creation  of  private  wealth. 

In  Canada,  Parliament  has  been  used  for  the  most 
improper  purposes,  under  the  most  extraordinarily 
demoralizing  influences  that  ever  became  operative 
among  a  free  people.     The  Donald  A.  Smith  syndicate 


THE  PROBLEM  TO  BE  FACED     301 

is  entirely  responsible  for  this  state  of  affairs.  To 
rid  itself  of  the  accumulated  evils  in  the  body  politic, 
resulting  from  the  continual  prostitution  of  a  legislative 
body  which  had  been  left  without  a  single  blemish  by 
the  earlier  statesmen  of  the  country,  is  the  problem 
now  to  be  solved  in  Canada. 

"  How  we  can  only  wait  till  the  day,  wait  and  apportion  our  shame. 
These  are  the  dykes  our  fathers  left,  but  we  would  not  look  to  the 

same. 
Time  and  again  we  were  warned  of  the  dykes,  time  and  again  we 

delayed, 
Now  it  may  fall  we  have  slain  our  sons  as  our  fathers  we  have 

betrayed. 

Walking  along  the  wreck  of  the  dykes,  watching  the  work  of  the 

seas, 
These  were  the  dykes  our  father  made  to  our  great  profit  and  ease. 
But  the  peace  is  gone  and  the  profit  is  gone,  and  the  old  sure  day  is 

withdrawn  .  .  . 
That  our  house  shows  so  strange  when  we  come  back  in  the  dawn." 

Kipling:  The  Dykes. 


APPENDIX 

i.  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  1874,  re 
North-west  Rebellion. 

2.  Resolution  proposed  by  Hon.  L.  S.  Huntingdon, 
charging  Ministers  with  receiving  money  from  Sir 
Hugh  Allan  in  consideration  of  the  charter  for  the 
Pacific  Railway,  1873.  Committee  of  Inquiry  by  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  Royal  Commission  issued  by 
the  Governor-General. 

3.  Steenerson  v.  Great  Northern  Railway,  69,  Min- 
nesota, 372,  by  Judge  Canty — 

"  Of  the  lines  of  railway  here  in  question,  565 
miles  were  built  and  owned  by  other  railroad 
companies  prior  to  the  foreclosure  sales  of  1879. 
At  one  of  these  sales  the  promoters  of  the  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis  and  Manitoba  Railway  bid  off  a  part 
of  the  property  (for  $1,500,000  as  shown  in  the 
court  records  of  St.  Paul)  and  the  company  itself 
after  it  was  organized  bid  in  the  rest  of  the  said 
property.  These  properties,  the  franchise  con- 
nected with  the  same,  and  a  large  land  grant 
earned  and  to  be  earned,  were  bid  off  for  the 
aggregate  sum  of  $3,600,000,  subject  to  a  prior 
lien  of  $486,000.  The  promoters  transferred  to 
the  new  company  the  part  bid  in  by  them,  and 
the  properties  were  immediately  bonded  by  the 
new  company  for  $16,000,000,  and  it  issued 
to  the  promoters  its  stock  to  the  amount  of 
$15,000,000." 

302 


APPENDIX  303 

4.  Extract  from  the  Hansard  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  filed  in  the  Library  of  the  Colonial  Office, 
Downing  Street — 

House  of  Commons,  Friday,  May  10,  1878. 
The  Speaker  took  the  Chair  at  twenty  minutes  to 
three  o'clock. 

Prayers 
Question  of  Privilege 

Mr.  Smith  (Selkirk)  :  I  rise  to  a  question  of  privilege. 
I  notice  by  one  of  the  public  prints  of  Ottawa  that 
the  Right  Hon.  member  for  Kingston  (Sir  John 
Macdonald) — has  spoken  of  me  in  this  House  in  a 
manner  which,  I  think,  I  can  characterize  as  most 
unfair  and  most  unjustifiable.  I  will  read  what  is 
stated  in  the  Free  Press.     It  is  as  follows — 

11  A  brief  but  violent  discussion  arose  over  the 
action  of  the  Senate  with  regard  to  the  Pembina 
Branch.  The  Premier  severely  criticized  the 
conduct  of  the  Senate  in  throwing  out  this  Bill, 
and  was  followed  by  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald, 
who  insinuated  that  the  Bill  was  merely  an 
arrangement  by  which  the  Government  could 
reward  a  Member  of  the  House  for  his  servile 
support,  and  that  this  member  had  been  com- 
pelled to  admit  in  the  House  that  he  was  interested 
in  this  monopoly." 

In  the  first  place  I  say  I  never  did  make  such  an 
admission  in  this  House  to  the  hon.  gentleman,  and 
even  had  I  done  so,  I  think  that  the  hon.  gentleman 
had  no  right  to  speak  of  me  as  he  did  on  that  occasion. 
Whatever  I  have  done  in  this  respect  I  have  done  in 
the  most  open  manner  possible.  When  it  was  found 
that  others  could  do  nothing  in  the  way  of  getting 
better  railway  facilities  and  completing  the  railway 
connection  with  Manitoba,  I  certainly,  as  Member 


304  APPENDIX 

from  that  province,  did  my  utmost  to  effect  that. 
And,  as  I  said  on  another  occasion  in  this  House,  for 
two  or  three  years  back  I  have  laboured  earnestly  to 
that  end  in  connection  with  some  friends,  and  no 
sooner  did  it  become  possible  to  get  that  which  was 
so  much  required — indeed  an  absolute  necessity  for 
the  country — than  the  hon.  gentleman  and  his  friends 
put  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  its  being  carried  out. 
He  comes  down  to  this  House  and  says  that  the 
Government  are  actuated  by  unworthy  motives  in 
proposing  to  make  running  arrangements  with  the 
ot.  Paul  and  Pacific  Company  over  the  Pembina 
Branch  and  that  it  was  their  intention  to  reward  me 
in  this  way  for  my  servile  adherence  to  them.  Now, 
I  would  like  to  ask  the  hon.  gentleman  the  member 
for  Kingston  and  any  other  member  of  his  Govern- 
ment, if  on  any  occasion  they  found  a  disposition  on 
my  part  to  ask  or  receive  any  favour  from  the  Govern- 
ment, either  for  myself  or  for  that  corporation  which 
has  been  so  much  spoken  of  and  which  I  have  had  the 
honour  of  representing — that  is  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  I  would  ask  the  hon.  member  if  I  have 
received  one  sixpence  of  public  money  or  one  place, 
either  for  myself  or  any  other  person  connected  with 
me,  and  if  at  this  moment  there  is  one  single  person 
related  to  myself  who  receives  one  sixpence  of  the 
public  money ;  and  I  would  ask  the  hon.  member 
if  this  is  so  with  all  those  who  may  have  claims  upon 
himself.  But  perhaps  it  would  not  be  very  generous 
to  refer  to  these  matters  particularly. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :   Refer  to  what  ? 

Mr.  Smith  :   This  is 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  What  would  it  be  un- 
generous to  refer  to  ? 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  mentioned  that  there  was  not  one 
relative  of  mine  who  drew  one  sixpence  of  the  public 
money,  who  held  any  place  in  the  public  service,  and 


APPENDIX  305 

said,  perhaps,  it  might  be  otherwise  with  those  con- 
nected with  and  related  to  the  Right  Hon.  Gentleman. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :   Hear,  hear. 

Mr.  Smith  :  Not  that  there  would  be  anything 
wrong  even  if  it  were  so,  as  regards  the  hon.  gentle- 
man's friends,  but  I  say  I  always  desired  to  keep  myself 
entirely  free  and  independent  with  regard  to  these 
matters  of  one  government  or  of  the  other  govern- 
ment. I  would  ask  the  hon.  gentlemen  on  this  side 
of  the  House  if  I  have  desired  any  favour  for  myself 
or  anything  for  any  one  except  for  such  of  my  con- 
stituents as  have  applied  to  me  for  places  under  the 
government ;  and  I  ask,  further,  if,  on  any  one  oc- 
casion, where  I  have  recommended  a  single  individual 
for  any  place,  or  any  position,  or  any  appointment, 
I  have  done  so  without  the  saving  clause  that  it  was 
conditional  on  his  being  found  in  every  respect  well 
fitted  for  it,  both  as  to  character  and  ability.  This 
unwarrantable  attack  of  the  Right  Hon.  gentleman 
is  but  a  continuation  and  repetition  of  what  he  and 
his  friends  have  been  saying  of  myself,  both  inside  and 
outside  of  this  House,  for  some  time  back.  The  hon. 
gentleman  who  sits  on  his  left,  the  hon.  member  for 
Cumberland  (Dr.  Tupper),  has  not  been  slow  to  use 
my  name,  as  I  find  by  another  public  print.     I  find 

that  the  hon.  gentleman  says I  think  it  was  at 

what  is  called  the  Orangeville  picnic.  I  know  very 
little  of  these  picnics,  I  have  not  followed  them 
closely,  nor  indeed  have  I  followed  them  at  all.  I 
was  otherwise  I  trust  honestly  and  more  properly 
occupied  in  the  pursuit  of  my  duties. 

Sir  J.  A.  Macdonald  :  More  profitably  engaged, 
no  doubt. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  trust  so — more  profitably  and  more 

properly.      I    find    that    the    hon.    gentleman,     the 

member    for    Cumberland,    says    here,    speaking    of 

certain  names  that  were  given  in  the  Globe  of  those 

u 


306  APPENDIX 

who  did  not  support  the  Right  Hon.  gentleman  at  a 
critical  moment  in  1873 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Mr.  Speaker,  I  rise  to  a  question  of 
order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  It  will  be  remembered  that 

Mr.  Speaker  :  A  question  of  order  is  raised. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  I  rise  to  a  question  of  order,  and  I 
put  it  to  you,  whether  it  is  not  an  abuse  of  the  right 
to  read  from  a  newspaper,  for  the  hon.  gentleman 
has  had  that  speech  here  during  the  three  months 
that  we  have  been  in  session,  and  to  speak  at  the 
moment  when  Black  Rod  is  coming  to  the  door,  and 
thus  to  shelter  himself  from  the  answer  which  he 
would  otherwise  get. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  And  the  punishment  he 
would  otherwise  get. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  have  had  no  such  opportunity. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  A  more  cowardly  thing  I  have  never 
seen  ventured  on  in  this  House. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  am  not  surprised  at  this  from  the 
hon.  gentleman. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Anything  more  cowardly  I  have  never 
heard  of.  I  am  responsible  for  every  word  I  have 
uttered  on  the  platform.  I  have  sat  here  for  three 
months,  and  no  reference  had  been  made  to  this  by 
the  hon.  gentleman  or  anybody  else 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Neither  the  hon.  gentleman 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 


Mr.  Tupper  :  Nor  any  other  hon.  gentleman 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Has  ventured  to  challenge  one  word 
I  have  uttered  during  the  recess  of  Parliament. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  charge  of  being  a  coward  I  throw 
back  on  the  hon.  gentleman. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  Let  the  poor  man  go  on. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  hon.  member  for  Cumberland 
said — 


APPENDIX  307 

"  He  would  give  his  hearers  the  names  men- 
tioned by  the  Globe  as  having  left  because  of  the 
Pacific  scandal.     It  would  be  remembered  that  the 
Government  of  that  day  had  a  majority  of  from 
twenty-five  to  thirty  in   1872,  and  in  order  to 
gain  a  majority,  the  Opposition  had  to  take  half 
of   them    away.     How   many   of   them    did   the 
Globe  mention  ?     Would  his  hearers  believe  it  ? 
Three.     But  they  who  did  suppose  were  paraded 
before  the  people  in  that  connection  ?     He  would 
read  their  names.     For  what  purpose  did  Mr. 
Glass,  Hon.  D.  A.  Smith,  and  Colonel  Ray,  not 
to  mention  others — all  men  who  had  supported 
Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  in  the  first  session  of 
1873 — desert   Sir  John   but   for  his  conduct   in 
connection    with    the    Pacific    scandal  ?     Then 
they  said  Hon.   D.   A.    Smith.     Did   the    Globe 
suppose  the  people  of  Canada  had  no  memories, 
and  they  that  did  not  know  that  Hon.  Mr.  Smith 
gave    unqualified    evidence    that    the    Canadian 
Pacific    Railway    had    nothing    to    do    with    his 
changed  attitude  towards  Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  ? 
Mr.  Smith  was  a  representative  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  and  he  had  been  pressing  a  claim 
on    his   Right   Hon.   friend   for   public   money ; 
Sir  John  had  been  holding  back,  and  Mr.  Smith 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  just  as 
well  to  jump  the  fence  if  there  was  to  be  a  change 
of  Government.     But  Mr.   Smith  was  a  canny 
man ;  he  held  back  and  sat  on  the  fence  and 
watched  the  course,  certainly  not  in  the  interests 
of  his  country,  because  he  did  not  want  to  jump 
too  soon  and  find  that  he  had  jumped  into  a 
ditch.    But,  when  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  Government  was    going  out,  he   made  the 
bolt,  and  he  (Dr.  Tupper)  had  no  doubt  but  that 
he  had  had  a  great  deal  of  reason  since  for  con- 
gratulating himself  on  having  jumped  as  he  did." 


308  APPENDIX 

Mr.  Smith  :  That  is  the  insinuation,  the  broad 
assertion,  made  on  the  part  of  the  hon.  member  for 
Cumberland  at  his  picnic,  and  reiterated  here,  and  I 
give  it  the  most  positive  denial,  and  say  that  never 
was  anything  received  by  me  or  desired  by  me  from 
the  present  Government  any  more  than  from  the 
former  Government.  What  are  the  particulars  of 
this  affair  of  1873,  as  regards  myself  ?  Does  the  hon. 
gentleman  not  know  ?  And  does  not  the  Right  Hon. 
gentleman  know,  too,  that  members  of  the  late 
Government  approached  me  before  the  eventful  4th 
of  November,  and  that  they  wished  to  sound  me  and 
know  how  I  was  going  to  vote  in  this  matter  ;  and  that, 
some  days  in  advance  of  that  time,  I  was  requested 
to  meet  the  hon.  member  for  Charlevoix  in  the 
Speaker's  room,  and  did  meet  him  there  ?  And  do 
they  not  know  that  an  hon.  gentleman  from  the 
other  House,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Campbell,  a  gentleman 
for  whom  I  have  a  very  high  respect  personally,  also 
met  me  there,  and  that  to  both  these  gentlemen 
during  a  long  interview,  at  which  was  present  also 
another  gentleman  who  was  then  likewise  a  member 
of  this  House — Mr.  Nathan,  a  personal  friend  of  mine 
— I  declared  that  I  could  not  vote  for  the  amendment 
to  the  amendment  that  was  even  offered  by  Mr. 
Macdonald  of  Pictou  ?  Do  they  not  know  I  said  : 
"  No,  I  cannot  do  so ;  I  cannot  possibly  do  so ;  I 
cannot  conscientiously  do  so." 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Does  the  hon.  gentleman  deny 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 


Mr.  Tupper  :  That  he  telegraphed  down  here 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  That  he  would  be  here  and  support 
the  Government 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  After  he  knew  everything  about  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway  affair  ?     Does  he  deny  that  ? 


APPENDIX  809 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  do  deny  it.  I  never  telegraphed  I 
would  be  here  and  support  the  Government.  Never, 
never.  I  know  that  the  Right  Hon.  gentleman  wrote 
me,  asking  me  to  come  down,  but  the  hon.  gentleman 
cannot  say — dare  not  say — I  ever  telegiaphed  I  would 
support  the  Government,  and  no  oilier  hon.  gentle- 
man can  say  so. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  I  will  tell  you  what  I  can 
say. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  I  telegraphed  the  hon. 
gentleman. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  He  dare  not  listen  to  an 
explanation. 

Mr.  Smith  :  On  the  occasion  referred  to  in  the 
Speaker's  chamber,  I  said  that  I  could  not  support 
the  Government,  but  I  offered  and  proposed  that 
there  should  be  another  amendment,  and  a  very 
different  one :  that  is,  the  Government  should  frankly 
confess  their  fault  to  the  House,  and  then,  if  the 
country  condoned  it,  and  Parliament  condoned  it,  it 
would  be  a  very  different  thing.  That  is  what  I 
proposed  to  the  hon.  gentleman,  and  this  was 
reduced  to  writing  at  the  time. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  That 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Is  not  what  you  telegraphed. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  Hear,  hear. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  hon.  gentleman  is  altogether  in 
the  wrong.  I  telegraphed  simply  in  courtesy  in  reply 
to  a  letter  that  I  would  be  in  Ottawa  by  the  23rd 
October.  I  saw  the  Right  Hon.  gentleman  himself 
in  one  of  the  rooms.  He  sent  for  me.  Mr.  Mitchell 
came  and  informed  me  that  the  hon.  member  for 
Kingston  desired  to  see  me ;  and  let  me  say  to  Mr. 
Mitchell's  credit,   that  he  has  got  up  in  many  an 


810  APPENDIX 

assembly  where  I  have  been  and  said  I  was  perfectly 
justified  in  doing  as  I  did,  as  Mr.  Mitchell  knew  all 
the  circumstances. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  I  am  sure  he  did  not. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Will  the  hon.  gentleman  name 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  One  single  meeting  where  Mr. 
Mitchell  ever  made  such  a  statement  anywhere,  and 
where  the  record  of  it  is  to  be  found,  except  out  of 
the  hon.  gentleman's  own  mouth 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  could  do  so. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  And  that  goes  for  a  very  little  in 
this  House  or  out  of  it. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  can  bring  forward  a  number  of 
gentlemen  of  high  respectability,  whose  word  will  be 
taken  all  over  the  country  and  all  over  the  world. 

Mr.  Tupper  and  Hon.  Members  :  Name,  name. 
Where,  where  ? 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  could  mention  a  dozen. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Name. 

Mr.  Smith  :  A  dozen  most  respectable  men  in 
Montreal,  and  some  in  Ottawa,  too. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Name. 

Mr.  Smith  :  A  dozen  of  them. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  I  never  heard  of  these  meetings  and 
statements. 

Mr.  Smith  :  And  if  necessary  I  am  prepared  to  do 
so  at  another  time.  On  the  occasion  spoken  of,  I  did 
see  the  hon.  gentleman  in  the  room.  I  think  it  was 
No.  6  or  5,  and  the  hon.  gentleman  then  did  try  to 
persuade  me  to  vote  for  him,  but  the  hon.  gentleman 
will  not  dare  to  state  I  said  I  could  support  him ;  and 
what  did  the  hon.  gentleman  say  to  me  then  at 
length 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  He  said,  "  If  I  am  not  supported  now 


APPENDIX  811 

I  will  appeal  to  the  country."  The  Right  Hon. 
gentleman  during  the  present  session  spoke  of  Selkirk 
— the  constituency  I  have  the  honour  to  represent — 
as  being  a  rotten  borough,  an  Old  Sarum,  but  in 
speaking  to  me  as  he  did  on  the  evening  of  that  4th 
November,  he  must  have  counted  on  the  whole  of 
Ontario  being  one  great  rotten  borough,  a  veritable 
Old  Sarum,  and  he  said  that  if  he  appealed  to  it  he 
could  have  Ontario  to  a  man  with  him. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Hear,  hear. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  There  is  not  one  single 
word  of  truth  in  that  statement — not  one  single  word 
of  truth.  The  hon.  gentleman  is  now  stating  what 
is  a  falsehood. 

Mr.  Rochester  :  How  much  did  the  other  side 
offer  you  ? 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  hon.  gentleman  says  he  did  not 
say  so ;  certainly,  the  spirit  within  him  said  it ;  for 
the  words  came  out  of  the  hon.  gentleman's 
mouth. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  If  he  did  not  say  so,  the  spirit  within 
him  did.  These  words  were  uttered  by  the  hon. 
gentleman. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  They  were  not  uttered 
by  me. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  They  were  not  uttered 
by  me. 

Mr.  Smith  :  They  were  as  surely  as  the  hon. 
gentleman  and  I  are  here. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  hon.  member  for  Cumberland 
the  same  evening  told  me  that  the  Right  Hon.  gen- 
tleman was  not  capable  of  knowing  what  he  said ; 
and  will  he  deny 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 


812  APPENDIX 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  hon.  member  for  Cumberland 
said  next  morning 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Mr.  Speaker,  I  rise  to  a  question  of 
order,  and  I  want  to  ask  you  whether  it  is  competent 
for  any  hon.  gentleman  to  stand  up  in  this  House 
and  detail  what  he  himself  admits  are  private  con- 
versations. Is  it  competent  for  a  man  to  detail  private 
conversations  while  falsifying  them  ? 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  And  his  word  passes  for  nothing  here 
or  elsewhere. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  I  have  never  witnessed  such 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Cowardly  abuse  of 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Of  the  privileges  of  this  House,  as 
for  an  hon.  gentleman  to  be  guilty  of  making  a 
speech  when  there  is  no  possibility  of  a  reply  being 
made  to  it. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  hon.  gentleman 

Mr.  Speaker  :  The  hon.  gentleman  is  defending 
himself  against  a  very  grave  charge  made  against  him. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  relating  of  private  conversations 
may  be  held  to  be  very  improper,  but  it  is  not  un- 
parliamentary. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  I  do  not  complain  of  the  relating  of 
private  conversations ;  I  complain 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  I  complain  of  the  hon.  gentleman 
falsifying  private  conversations  and  detailing  that  as  a 
conversation  which  he  knows  to  be  falsified. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  do  not  look  upon  them  as  private 
conversations  and  I  give  the  exact  truth.  I  was  sent 
for  as  a  member  of  the  House  by  the  gentleman  at 
that  time  the  head  of  the  Government,  and  he 


APPENDIX  313 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  Endeavoured  to  get  me 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Will  the  hon.  gentleman 

Mr.  Rochester  :  They  could  not  give  you  enough. 
Mr.  Smith  :  Will  he  deny  that  the  next  morning 

when  I  met  the  hon.  gentleman  here,  who  is  on  the 

other  side 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Give 


Mr.  Smith  :  At  Mr.  Tupper's  office  when  he  was 
Minister  of  Customs.  Will  he  deny  he  said  to  me 
that  as  soon  as  it  was  possible  to  make  the  Right  Hon. 
gentleman  to  understand  right  from  wrong,  or  to 
that  effect 

Mr.  Tupper  :  The  hon.  gentleman  has  asked  if  I 
will  make  a  statement. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  I  tell  him  that  if  he  will  allow  me 
five  minutes 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  Only  for  an  apology. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  I  will  show  that  the  very  first  state- 
ment he  commenced  with  to-day 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  The  statement  that  he  never  sought 
a  favour  from  the  late  Government 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Is  as  false  a  statement 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  As  ever  issued  from  the  mouth  of  any 
man,  and  he  has  continued 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  With  a  tissue 


Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Sir,  of  as  false  statements  as  were  ever 

uttered 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 
Mr.  Tupper  :  By  any  man. 


8U  APPENDIX 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  That  is  what  I  will  show  him. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  never  asked,  prayed  for,  desired,  or 
got  a  favour  from  the  late  Government. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Will  the  hon.  gentleman  allow  me 
to  tell  a  favour  he  asked  for  ? 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  The  hon.  gentleman  begged  of  me 
to  implore 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  The  leader  of  the  Government  to 
make  him  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Canada. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  That  is  what  he  asked  for,  and  he 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Was  refused ;  and  it  was  the  want  of 
that  position,  and  that  refusal,  which,  to  a  large 
extent,  has  placed  him  where  he  is  to-day. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  hon.  gentleman  knows  that  he 
states  what  is  wholly  untrue,  and,  driven  to  his  wits' 
end,  is  now  going  back  to  a  journey  he  and  I  made 
to  the  North-west  in  1869,  and  I  give  the  most 
positive  denial  to  any  assertion  made  by  him  or  any 
other  person,  that  I  asked  for  or  desired  any  favour 
from  the  Government. 

The  Serjeant-at-Arms  :  Mr.  Speaker,  a  message 
from  His  Excellency  the  Governor-General. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  now 

Mr.  Speaker  :  I  have  very  much  pleasure  in  in- 
forming the  House  that  it  now  becomes  my  duty  to 
receive  the  messenger. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  He  knows 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Coward  !     Coward  !     Sit  down  ! 

Mr.  Speaker  :  I 


APPENDIX  815 


Mr.  Smith  :  He  knows- 


Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Coward  !     Coward  !     Coward  ! 

Mr.  Smith  :  You  are  the  coward. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  Nay,  further,  there  were  two  gentle- 
men, members  of  this  House 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Smith  :  The  day  after  that  4th  of  November 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Coward  !     Coward  ! 

Mr.  Smith  :  Who  came  to  me  with  a  proposition 
to  throw  over  the  Right  Hon.  gentleman  and  the 
present  member  for  Charlevoix,  if  I  would  consent 
to  give  up  the  position  I  had  deemed  it  my  duty  to 
take  in  the  House  the  evening  before,  and  would 
support  the  Government  by  voting  against  the 
amendment  of  the  hon.  member  for  Lambton. 

Some  Hon.  Members  :  Order. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Mean,  treacherous  coward ! 

Mr.  Smith  :  Who  is  the  coward,  the  House  will 
decide — it  is  yourself. 

Mr.  Tupper  :  Coward,  treacherous 

Mr.  Smith  :  I  could  not  support  them. 

Mr.  Speaker  :  Admit  the  messenger. 

Sir  John  A.  Macdonald  :  That  fellow  Smith  is  the 
biggest  liar  I  ever  met. 

A  Message  from  His  Excellency  the  Governor- 
General,  by  the  Gentleman  Usher  of  the  Black 
Rod—  ' 

"  Mr.  Speaker — 

"  His  Excellency  the  Governor-General  desires 
the  immediate  attendance  of  this  Honourable  House 
in  the  Senate  Chamber." 

Accordingly,  Mr.  Speaker,  with  the  House,  went 
up  to  attend  His  Excellency. 


816  APPENDIX 

5.  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons,  December 
9th,  1880. 

The  Dominion  Contr averted  Elections  Act^  1874. 

Election  of  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Commons 
of  Canada  for  the  Electoral  District  of  the  County  of 
Selkirk  in  the  Province  of  Manitoba,  holden  on  the 
19th  and  26th  days  of  September,  1878. 

Between — 

David  Young  and  Archibald  Wright, 
(Petitioners),  Appellants, 
and 
Donald  Alexander  Smith, 
(Respondent),  Respondent  : 
It    appearing   from    the    reading  in  the  above  cause 
transmitted    to    this    Court    that    the    Honourable 
Mr.   Justice   Betourney   rendered    judgment   in   the 
said  cause  on  the   nth  day  of  October,  a.d.    1879, 
whereby  it  was  adjudged  and  determined  that  the  said 
Petitioners  had  not  proved  any  of  the  allegations  of 
the  said  Petition,  that  the  said  Election  was  and  is 
valid,  and  the  said  Donald  Alexander  Smith  was  duly 
returned  and  elected  to  represent  the  said  Electoral 
District  in  the  said  House  of  Commons,  and  the  said 
Appellants  having  appealed  from  the  said  judgment 
to  this  Court,  which  said  appeal  was  by  notice  given 
by  the  said  Appellants  pursuant  to  the  Statute  on 
that  behalf,  limited  to  the  following  specially  defined 
questions  or  cases : — 

1.  The  case  of  Donald  Alexander  Smith  as  briber, 

and  John  F.  Grant  as  bribee,  and  numbered 
13  in  the  particulars  of  the  allegations  con- 
tained in  the  Petition  herein. 

2.  The  case  of  James  Penrose  as  briber  and  Henry 

King  as  bribee,  as  numbered  14  in  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  allegations  contained  in  the 
Petition  herein. 


APPENDIX  317 

3.  The  case  of  Elias  George  Cocklin  as  the  person 

hiring  teams,  and  John  Henry  Mason  as  the 
person  from  whom  the  said  Elias  George 
Cocklin  hired  the  teams  as  contained  in 
paragraph  1  in  the  particulars  of  the  allegations 
contained  in  the  Petition  herein. 

4.  The  case  of  Donald  Alexander  Smith  and  Henry 

Blanchard  bribers,  and  Jean  Baptise  Lapointe, 
Elzear  Lafemodiere,  Louis  Deschambault, 
L.J. A.  Laveque,  J.A.N.  Provencher,  Alexander 
Begg  and  A.  F.  De  Gauthieras  bribers,  and 
numbered  26  in  the  particulars  of  the  alle- 
gations contained  in  the  Petition  herein. 

And  the  said  Appeal  having  come  to  be  heard  before 
this  Court  on  the  12th  and  13th  days  of  May,  1880, 
in  the  presence  of  Counsel  as  well  for  the  Appellants 
as  the  Respondent,  this  Court  was  pleased  to  direct 
that  the  said  Appeal  should  stand  over  for  Judgment, 
this  Court  did  order,  judge  and  determine,  that  the 
said  Appeal  should  be  and  the  same  was  allowed  with 
costs  to  be  paid  by  the  said  Respondent  to  the  said 
Appellants. 

And  the  Court  did  order,  adjudge  and  determine 
as  follows : — 

1.  That  the  said  Donald  Alexander  Smith  was  not 

duly  returned  or  elected,  and  the  said  Election 
was  void. 

2.  That  so  far  as  appeared  by  the  said  Appeal, 

limited  as  aforesaid,  no  corrupt  act  has  been 
proved  to  have  been  committed  by  or  with 
the  knowledge  or  consent  of  any  candidate  at 
such  Election. 

3.  That  the  said  Elias  George  Cocklin,  an  agent  of 

the  said  Respondent  at  the  said  Election,  did 
hire  a  certain  team  and  vehicle  to  carry  voters 


818  APPENDIX 

to  the  Poll  or  to  the  neighbourhood  thereof, 
and  did  pay  one  Mason  for  the  hire  of  such 
his  team  for  the  purpose  of  conveying  to  the 
Poll  or  the  neighbourhood  thereof  at  the  said 
Election,  whereby  the  said  Elias  George 
Cocklin  offended  against  the  96th  section  of 
the  Dominion  Election  Act,  1874,  and  under 
the  98th  section  of  the  said  Section  96,  which 
wilful  offence  is  acclaimed  to  be  a  corrupt 
practice  within  the  meaning  of  the  said  Act. 

4.  That  so  far  as  appears  by  the  said  Appeal  limited 

as  aforesaid,  corrupt  practices  were  not,  nor 
is  there  reason  to  believe  that  corrupt  practices 
have  extensively  prevailed  in  the  said  Election. 

5.  That  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  deposited 

by  the  said  Appellants  as  security  for  costs 
of  said  Appeal  be  returned  to  them. 

6.  That  the  original  record  in  the  above  cause  be 

transmitted  by  the  Registrar  of  this  Court  to 
the  proper  officer  of  the  Court  below  from 
whom  the  same  was  received. 
Certified. 

Robert  Cassels, 

Registrar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Canada. 

To  the  Hon.  J.  G.  Blanchett, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  of  Canada, 
Ottawa. 

6,  7,  8.  Hansard,  House  of  Commons,  December 
1880. 

9.  Hansard,  House  of  Commons,  p.  107,  1880. 

10.  Sir  Hugh  Allan's  charter,  Statutes  1872,  pro- 
vided for  a  grant  of  $30,000,000  (£6,000,000),  and 
50,000,000  acres  of  land,  to  be  allotted  in  alternate 
blocks  along  the  entire  length  of  the  railway  from 
Lake  Nipegon  to  the  Pacific  coast.     The  grant  in  the 


APPENDIX  819 

prairie  section  would  have  been  about  15,000,000 
acres  along  the  railway  line.  The  Canadian  syndicate 
received  in  cash  and  in  the  completed  portions  of  the 
railway,  $55,000,000  (£11,000,000),  and  25,000,000 
acres  of  selected  land  in  the  fertile  belt  of  the  prairies. 

11.  Mr.  George  Stephens,  letter  to  the  Prime 
Minister,  January,  1893,  Sessional  Papers,  2230,  1883. 

12.  No.  879,  Interstate  Commerce  Commission, 
City  of  Spokane  v.  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Company. 

13.  Anglo-Persian  Oil  Company  statement  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  May  1914,  by  Mr.  Pretyman, 
M.P.,  "Lord  Strathcona  holds  £1,000,000  of  the 
Ordinary  Stock  of  the  Company."  Extract  from 
letter  from  Mr.  Pretyman,  June  20,  1914  : — 

"  The  sum  which  Lord  Strathcona  invested  in 
the  Persian  Oil  Company  was  £50,000.  There 
is  really  nothing  more  to  tell  about  his  connection 
with  the  Persian  Oil  Company.  What  I  said  in 
the  House  of  Commons  pretty  well  covers  the 
ground." 

14.  Hansard,  House  of  Commons,  December  17th, 
1880. 

Sir  Richard  Cartwright  :  We  must  swallow  it 
whole  .  .  .  lest  the  people  of  Canada  come  too  soon 
and  too  quickly  to  the  conviction  that  their  rights 
were  being  trampled  on  and  their  property  wasted. 
.  .  .  This  Bill,  in  every  important  clause,  every  im- 
portant feature,  appears  to  have  been  so  drawn  to 
offend  every  honest  instinct,  every  wholesome  preju- 
dice, of  every  important  class  from  one  end  of  the 
Dominion  to  the  other.  .  .  .  We  see  wise  and  ex- 
perienced business  men  asking  themselves  whether  the 
name  of  the  Minister  of  Railways,  which  I  see  upon 
the  last  page  of  this  document,  really  means  the  agent 
of  the  party  of  the  first  part,  or  the  agent  of  the  party 
of  the  second  part.  ...  I  don't  care  which  of  my 


820  APPENDIX 

three  hypotheses  you  adopt,  whether  you  say  that 
these  honourable  gentlemen  (the  Government)  were, 
as  in  my  first  hypothesis,  crazy ;  or  in  my  second, 
bought ;  or  in  my  third,  sold.  Possibly  there  may 
have  been  a  little  of  all  three. 

15.  On  the  eve  of  the  election  in  the  Province  of 
Quebec  the  following  pledge  was  demanded  from 
candidates  for  the  House  of  Commons  by  Bishops  of  the 
Catholic  Church — 

"  The  Laurier-Greenway  settlement  of  the 
Manitoba  Catholic  School  Act  having  been 
judged  to  be  unacceptable  on  the  authority  of 
the  Bishops,  I  solemnly  pledge  myself,  on  my 
faith  and  on  my  honour,  without  restriction 
whatever,  if  I  am  elected  member,  against  the 
settlement,  or  against  any  other  which  shall  not 
have  been  accepted  by  the  same  religious  authority, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  constitution  of 
Manitoba,  and  the  judgment  of  Her  Majesty's 
Privy  Council. 

"  As  a  devoted  son  of  the  Catholic  Church,  I 
pledge  myself  to  absolutely  prohibit  all  who  act 
for  me  in  the  present  electoral  campaign,  whether 
on  the  hustings  or  in  conversation  with  the  voters, 
to  utter  one  word  in  favour  of  the  Laurier-Green- 
way settlement,  because  it  has  not  been  accepted 
by  religious  authority.  Therefore  I  have  signed 
this  pledge  to  the  satisfaction  of  Monseigneur  the 

Bishop  of ,  in  the  presence  of  Rev. and 

Rev. ,  who  have  signed  with  me." 

16.  Memorial  from  Canadian  Liberals  to  Rome. 

"To  His  Holiness,  Leo  XIII. 
"  Most  Holy  Father — 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  members  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Commons  of  Canada,  and  representing 


APPENDIX  321 

therein  the  Liberal  party,  present  ourselves  before 
Your  Holiness  as  respectful  and  devoted  children  of 
Holy  Church,  to  complain  of  the  existence  of  a 
state  of  things,  which  if  allowed  to  continue,  must 
be  extremely  dangerous  to  the  constitutional  liberties 
of  this  country,  as  well  as  to  the  interests  of  the 
Church  itself. 

"  Your  Holiness  has  already  been  made  aware  of 
the  conduct  and  attitude  of  certain  prelates  and  of 
certain  members  of  the  secular  clergy  who,  during 
the  general  election  in  this  country  in  the  month  of 
June  last,  intervened  in  a  violent  manner  in  restraint 
of  electoral  freedom,  taking  sides  openly  for  the  Con- 
servative party  against  the  Liberal  party,  and  going 
so  far  as  to  declare  guilty  of  grievous  sin  those  of  the 
electors  who  would  vote  for  the  Liberal  party. 

"  Sincerely  attached  to  the  institutions  of  our 
country  which  ensure  to  us  Catholics  the  most  com- 
plete liberty,  we  respectfully  represent  to  Your  Holiness 
that  these  democratic  institutions  under  which  we 
live  and  for  which  Your  Holiness  has  many  times 
expressed  sentiments  of  admiration  and  confidence, 
can  only  exist  under  perfect  electoral  freedom. 

"  Far  be  it  from  us  to  refuse  the  clergy  the  plenitude 
of  civil  and  political  rights.  The  priest  is  a  citizen, 
and  we  would  not  for  a  single  instant,  deprive  him  of 
the  right  of  expressing  his  opinion  on  any  matter 
submitted  to  the  electorate  ;  but  when  the  exercise 
of  that  right  develops  into  violence,  and  when  violence 
in  the  name  of  religion,  goes  to  the  extent  of  making 
a  grievous  sin  of  a  mere  political  act,  there  is  an  abuse 
of  authority  of  which  the  consequences  cannot  but 
be  fatal,  not  only  to  constitutional  liberty,  but  to 
religion  itself. 

"  If  in  a  country  such  as  ours,  where  a  population 
consisting  of  persons  of  various  creeds,  and  wherein 
the   Protestant   denominations   are  in  the  majority, 


822  APPENDIX 

Catholics  did  not  enjoy,  in  all  matters  relating  to 
legislation,  the  same  political  freedom  as  their  fellow- 
countrymen,  they  would  ipso  facto  be  placed  in  a 
position  of  inferiority,  which  would  prevent  them  from 
taking  the  legislative  part  which  they  are  entitled  to  take 
in  the  government  of  the  country,  with  the  possibility, 
moreover,  of  conflicts  between  the  various  groups  of 
the  population  which  history  shows  to  be  ever  fraught 
with  danger. 

"  Then  again,  an  active  and  violent  intervention 
of  the  clergy  in  the  domain  of  political  questions  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  must,  of  necessity,  produce 
against  the  great  mass  of  the  Catholic  population  a 
degree  of  criticism,  manifestly  prejudicial  to  that 
respect  which  religion  and  its  ministers  should  ever 
inspire  and  command. 

"  Some  twenty  years  ago  His  Holiness  Pius  the  IX, 
Your  illustrious  and  lamented  predecessor  on  the 
Pontifical  Throne,  acting  through  the  Sacred  College 
of  the  Propaganda,  deemed  it  his  duty  to  put  a  stop 
to  certain  abuses  of  a  similar  character,  and  forbade 
the  intervention  of  the  clergy  in  politics.  This 
prohibition  was  generally  respected  so  long  as  His 
Eminence  Cardinal  Taschereau  was  able  to  guide  the 
Church  in  Canada ;  but  since  old  age  and  infirmities 
have  paralysed  his  guiding  hand,  the  abuses  to  which 
Your  Illustrious  predecessor  had  put  a  stop,  have  begun 
again,  and  threaten  once  more  to  create  trouble  among 
us  and  to  compromise,  not  only  Catholic  interests  in 
this  country,  but  the  peace  and  harmony  which  should 
exist  between  the  various  elements  of  our  population. 

"  Again  affirming  our  absolute  devotion  to  the  faith 
of  our  fathers  and  to  the  Church  of  which  you  are  the 
Supreme  Head  ;  affirming  our  respect  and  attachment 
for  the  person  of  Your  Holiness ;  our  attachment  to 
the  interests  of  our  country  and  to  the  Crown  of  Great 
Britain,  its  aegis  and  protector,  we  beg  that  Your 
Holiness   will   renew  in    our    behalf   the    most   wise 


APPENDIX  323 

prescriptions  and  prohibitions  of  Your  Illustrious 
predecessor ;  protect  the  consciences  of  the  Catholic 
electorate,  and  thus  secure  peace  in  our  country  by 
the  union  of  religion  and  liberty — a  union  which  Your 
Holiness  has  many  times  extolled  in  those  immortal 
encyclicals  whose  precious  teachings  we  desire  in  all 
things  to  follow ;  and,  lastly,  grant  to  the  children  of 
the  Church  now  addressing  Your  Holiness  the  Apostolic 
Benediction. 

"  (Signed  by  Wilfrid  Laurier  and  forty-six  members 
of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Commons.) 

"  Ottawa,  Canada,  1896." 

17.  Hansard,  House  of  Commons,  p.  239,  March 
30,  1897. 

Hon.  Mr.  Tarte  (Minister  of  Public  Works)  : 
The  First  Minister  of  this  country  (Hon.  Wilfrid 
Laurier)  was  accused  in  Rome  to  the  Papal  authority 
of  being  a  Freemason.  Five  Bishops  went  to  Rome 
and  several  of  them  accused  the  Liberal  party  with 
being  an  anti-religious  party.  But  they  did  some- 
thing more.  They  said  at  the  head  of  affairs  was  a 
bad  Catholic,  while  at  the  head  of  the  Opposition  was 
a  very  pious  man  indeed,  and  of  course  it  was  better 
to  replace  that  very  bad  Catholic  by  that  most  pious 
man. 

Mr.  Casgrain  :  Do  I  understand  the  honourable 
gentleman  to  accuse  the  five  Bishops  who  went  to 
Rome,  or  any  of  them,  of  having  said  that  the  First 
Minister  of  the  Dominion  was  a  Freemason  or  a  bad 
Catholic  ? 

Hon.  Mr.  Tarte  :  The  Bishop  of  Chicoutimi  was 
interviewed  a  few  days  ago,  and  in  the  public  Press  he 
stated  that  he  had  himself  told  the  Papal  authorities 
that  Wilfrid  Laurier  knew  so  little  about  religion  that 
he  did  not  expect  anything  else  from  him  but  neutral 


3?4  APPENDIX 

or  godless  schools.  I  say  on  my  responsibility  here 
that  some  of  the  Bishops  told  the  Pope  himself  and 
the  Propaganda  that  the  honourable  gentleman  who 
is  at  the  head  of  affairs  to-day  is  a  very  bad  Roman 
Catholic.     The  Papal  Delegate  is  my  witness." 

1 8.  At  the  General  Elections  in  September  1878 
the  result  of  the  voting  was — 

Donald  A.  Smith        ....       555 
Hon.  A.  Morris  ....       546 


Maj.  for  D.  A.  Smith      ...  9 

Through  the  election  having  been  declared  void  by 
the  Supreme  Court  reversing  the  judgment  of  the 
trial  judge,  a  bye-election  was  held  September  10, 
1880,  resulting  as  follows — 

Colonel  Scott 735 

Donald  A.  Smith        ....       577 


Maj.  for  Col.  Scott         ...       158 

19.  File  257,  1893,  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States. 

20.  Joint  Stock  Companies,  1914,  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway  — 

Ordinary  Stock        .         .  .         $260,000,000 

4%  Preference  .         .         .         £15,173,563 

4%  Consolidated  Debenture  Stock  £33,725,385 
Note  Certificates      .         .         .        $52,000,000 


Printed  in  Great  Britain  by  Richard  Clay  &  Sons,  Limited, 

BRUNSWICK  ST.,  SIAMFORD  ST.,  8.B.,  AND  BUNGAY,  SUFFOLK. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 
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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


